Implementing the New Education Regulations with Fastvue

Protecting the online student environment is a central part of being a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). A DSL (known as a Designated Liaison Person in Ireland (DLP) – see below) is a school or college staff member appointed to take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, including online safety.

However, many people appointed to DSL and DLP roles need to become more familiar with technology, and understanding the IT terms often associated with cybersecurity and online protection can create barriers to delivering on DSL requirements.?

In this blog, we provide an overview of DSL and DLP responsibilities, what the UK and Ireland child protection regulations cover, how Fastvue can help bridge the jargon gap, and get details of an upcoming 11th September 2024 webinar hosted by Renaissance and Fastvue on this topic.

DSL Responsibilities

DSLs in the United Kingdom and Ireland must ensure that their schools adhere to the latest standards outlined in their respective jurisdictions.

In Ireland, there are two pieces of legislation that touch on the responsibilities of schools when it comes to safeguarding children online. The two are:

1. Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 – This was enacted specifically to improve online safety and protect children (and others) from harmful online content. The act created a new regulator called Coimisiún na Meán (Media Commission) with responsibility for overseeing online safety and media regulation in Ireland. The commission has the power to create online safety codes and impose sanctions on providers who don’t comply. As a result of this act, online services operating in Ireland must minimise the availability of harmful content, such as bullying, general harassment, self-harm and suicide promotion. Services provided by video platforms and advertisers online also fall under the act and the remit of the commission.
2. Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (revised 2023) – A set of guidelines from the Irish Department of Education that assist schools in developing and implementing child protection policies and practices. The 2023 update builds on the initial 2017 release. Under these child protection procedures, all schools are required to have a Child Safeguarding Statement and undergo a Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment. Schools must also appoint a DLP and a Deputy DLP to handle child protection concerns and liaise with relevant authorities.

These two pieces of legislation work together to foster a safer environment for children in Ireland. The Online Safety and Media Regulation Act focuses on protecting children from harmful online content. At the same time, the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools provides a framework for schools to deliver child protection within schools.

In the UK, the relevant regulations are contained in the KCSiE guidelines (PDF link to UK Department of Education). These guidelines strongly emphasise online safety, with the expectation that it should be a running theme in safeguarding policies. UK sSchools and colleges must ensure that:

·?All staff receive safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety, filtering, and monitoring.

·?The school or college safeguarding policies must adopt and reflect new guidance and best practices for online safety.

·?The educational institution meets the published filtering and monitoring standards to protect children from harmful online content.

To comply with the KCSiE guidelines, educational institutions and their IT service providers must:

·?Implement robust safeguarding policies that address online safety.

·?Deploy appropriate filtering and monitoring systems on school devices and networks.

·?Provide comprehensive staff training on online safety and the use of filtering and monitoring tools.

·?Follow safer recruitment practices and manage allegations effectively.

This is just a high-level summary of the complete guidance that must be followed in Ireland and the UK. Other EU countries have regulations and guidance like these.

Fastvue - Simplifying the Tech Jargon Landscape

Misunderstanding complex tech jargon can obstruct the effective implementation of safeguarding measures that are mandatory in both jurisdictions. DLPs and DSLs must also clearly communicate to other school staff what is required under the regulations and inform them of any updates. When the technical language is difficult to understand, they may be slow in passing on the information needed or may relay it incorrectly.

Fastvue’s mission is to simplify the reporting around Internet and network use, making it easy for non-technical people to understand and relay “What’s happening online?” in the easiest way possible. This is ideal for helping designated child protection offices in schools (and anyone else!) get a handle on what the people in their organisations are doing online without being swamped with technical jargon.

Fastvue Reporter?makes it easier for everyone to understand what’s happening on the network and with Internet usage. It takes the raw data from Firewalls and presents it in an understandable way. You can see the complete list of features and the information it surfaces on the?Reporter product page. Here are three highlights:

Internet usage reports - Find out who your most active users are and their most visited sites. Also, see the time they spend on unacceptable sites. Discover how many hours of YouTube videos get watched. Uncover searches that match suspicious keyword lists, blocked sites, shadow applications, and more.

User overview reports - Reporter’s comprehensive internet monitoring provides detailed reports on specific people’s internet and network activity as required.

Dashboards - See what’s happening on the network right now in real time.

In furtherance of their mission to simplify technical jargon,?Fastvue has a blog post?on the new KCSiE guidelines that includes a mini glossary of over twenty technical terms that DSLs and DLPs in Ireland may encounter as part of their duties. This is an excellent list for anyone acting as a DLP or DSL who doesn’t want to ask their school or college IT team what these terms mean.?

Fastvue Webinar

We will host a webinar with Fastvue on using their solutions to simplify monitoring and reporting activity on your network. The sessions will be focused on education organisations.

Keeping Education Safe- Leveraging Fastvue for Effective Internet Monitoring and Reporting.

Discover how to get ahead of future safeguarding legislation. On the 11th of September at 2pm.

Learn more and register to attend at https://renaissance.renaissance.ie/c/424712.

In the interim, don’t hesitate to?contact us?if you have any questions about Fastvue and how their solutions can help you simplify reporting about Internet and network use. Learn more about Fastvue solutions on?their website.