Online Safety Content Filtering – DfE dons blindfold

e-Safety is a vital set of tools primarily to protect children from harmful content and to empower children with the knowledge to stay safe whilst using digital technologies.  So it comes as a surprise and a disappointment to see that the Department for Education are no longer accrediting online safety content management filters.

In their day, Becta did a magnificent job of setting many standards: accreditation of content filtering systems was one of them.  It was hoped that when the government disbanded Becta the DfE would continue with the great e-safety role.  But that has simply not been the case.  Instead (in regard to content filtering) the DfE says that “….previously accredited products and services including those provided by commercial suppliers, local authorities and regional broadband consortia (RBCs) have a valid licence to supply accredited services for the duration of the accredited period.”  I must admit I don’t know what the accreditation period is, but I doubt it can continue for too much longer.  Also, how can you supply accredited services when there is no accreditation?  Perhaps I’m misreading it!

Instead, we are now pointed to PAS 74:2008 (Public Available Specification).  At the princely sum of £120.00 you can download this PDF document which is essentially a certification for home-use products.  Reading through the text sets a raised eyebrow in Sean Connery fashion.  Number 1 on the list – block inappropriate content!  Shouldn’t number 1 on the list be “block illegal content”, or better phrased, “block all known and suspected illegal content using the IWF blacklist which updates at least one daily.”

I could be wrong, their interpretation of inappropriate could include illegal, however I’m not going to be spending £120 of my hard-earned cash to find out.  In my world there is a fundamental difference between inappropriate and illegal.

But, to get to my point, I am concerned.  In the world of Safeguarding I always play the cynic, in other words you can never be too careful.  The safety of our children is paramount above all else.  If there is no such accreditation standards will drop.  There will be the ability to sell cheaper, less useful, less feature rich solutions.  Cut a corner here, gloss over a little there, cut the cost.  As budgets squeeze ever tighter there is the risk that some may purchase the cheaper items, the “non-accredited” solutions that don’t give the safeguarding assurance that is needed.

The accreditation process gives an assurance to school leaders who don’t understand the technology that they are getting something good, or it does what it says on the tin.  Now all they will have is the battle of marketing departments telling the school why this product is better than that one.  It wouldn’t have taken much for the DfE to keep this accreditation going, Becta has already done all the hard grafting.

As I have said before, the online safety, or the safety in general of our children is paramount above all else.  When we start cutting corners on safeguarding I get concerned.

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