Smoothwall by Qoria

09/07/2026

📢 LIVE KCSIE 2026 WEBINAR | Monday 13th July @ 1pm

The for information version of KCSIE 2026 was published on Tuesday. This version features some of the most extensive updates in recent years, that education settings are now having to prepare for ahead of September.

With time now of the essence, Smoothwall is hosting a free live webinar that covers the key KCSIE changes that relate to student digital safety.

Kat Howard, our Head of Education & Wellbeing, will walk through these as well as the the practical steps you can take now before the new term starts.

You'll leave with a clear understanding of:
• The new digital risks KCSIE wants schools and colleges to recognise
• What good practice around filtering and monitoring now looks like
• How DSLs can meet the new early detection expectations
• What leaders need to oversee, evidence and review

Places are limited, so early registration is advised.

Book your place now: https://hubs.la/Q04p0cNy0

08/07/2026

📢 KCSIE 2026 is here!

The DfE has released the “for information” version of Keeping Children Safe in Education, due to come into effect this September.

Changes include:

✅ Expanded mental health guidance for all staff
✅ Deepfakes named explicitly for the first time as a notable risk
✅ Stronger focus on misogyny and harmful sexual behaviour
✅ Filtering and monitoring guidance updated to reflect AI risks
✅ New standalone guidance on gender questioning children
✅ Strengthened guidance on the DSL role & cover arrangements
✅ Cyber security recognised as a safeguarding concern

We've broken everything down in our section-by-section guide, so your team can quickly focus on the points that matter to you.

Explore what’s new here 👉 https://hubs.la/Q04nT0hd0

06/07/2026

DSLs hope cases like these never land on their desk.

For Kay-Burton Williams at BMet College, it did: a highly vulnerable student in urgent need of support.

When a young person is showing signs of risk online, the window to act is small.
But a web filter can only see so much.

Without wider visibility and context of worrying digital behaviours, DSLs are left piecing together the picture with limited time and information.

That wasn't the case here.

Because BMet College uses Smoothwall Monitor, Kay could quickly see the early signs of concern.

The human moderation team called, and she was able to act within minutes.

When cases like this emerge, the right monitoring is often what stands between catching a concern early and potentially missing it altogether.

See how Smoothwall Monitor helps DSLs like Kay see the signs of risk and intervene to keep students safe.

Book a quick walkthrough with Sean in our FE team today - https://hubs.la/Q04nB4Fy0

23/06/2026

We're at the Working Together to Safeguard Learners Conference today!

Events like this one really matter because the DSLs, senior leaders and safeguarding practitioners in this room are doing some of the most important work in education - and the conversations that happen here shape how schools think about keeping children safe.

If you're attending, be sure to find us in the marketplace. Matthew and David are on the smoothwall stand ready to chat about what effective digital monitoring looks like in your school, setting or trust.

Come and say hello 👋

15/06/2026

The UK has today announced a ban on social media for under-16s.

The plans set out stronger age verification on platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. They also propose blocks on livestreaming and stranger contact on gaming sites, and a minimum age for romantic chatbot companion apps.

It's a significant moment. But will a ban, on its own, keep children safer online?

Tim Levy, Managing Director of Qoria (Smoothwall's parent company), has watched this question play out before. Drawing on first-hand learnings from Australia's ban, he shares why removing access is rarely the whole answer. And why real protection takes more: age-appropriate safeguards, the right tools in parents' hands, and genuine accountability from platforms.

Read Tim's full statement here... https://hubs.la/Q04lnbs20

09/06/2026

A fresh new Monitor experience is here!

We've been working behind the scenes to bring you a brand new, refreshed Monitor interface - built to help DSLs and safeguarding teams move faster and respond to safeguarding alerts with clarity and confidence.

Same trusted platform. A smarter way to use it.

Want to see it in action? Book a short walk through with our friendly team: https://hubs.la/Q04kFwPw0

01/06/2026

DSLs know how much difference it makes to catch a safeguarding concern early.

But more and more of those concerns now begin online, where the early signals are harder to see.

Without digital monitoring, DSL Helen McKay told us, "you're almost waiting for those signs to be visible." By then, a vulnerable student may already have gone unnoticed.

You can listen to Helen's experience of using digital monitoring to transform safeguarding as a series of short podcast clips.

In them, she shares her first-hand experience of:

📢 Adapting to a safeguarding landscape that keeps shifting
📢 Spotting the earliest signs that a student may be at risk online
📢 How digital monitoring supports compliance
📢 A time when early insight helped her support a highly vulnerable student

It's an honest, practical listen for any DSL who hasn't tried monitoring yet, or who's finding their current system isn't keeping up. Listen to Helen's advice for fellow DSLs, free today.

https://hubs.la/Q04jwbQY0

21/05/2026

Ofcom has said TikTok and YouTube are still “not safe enough” for children, highlighting ongoing concerns about how harmful content is surfaced to younger users.

Key findings from the report include:
➡️ Content feeds continue to expose children to harmful material, despite existing safety measures

➡️ Age restrictions are not being effectively enforced, with 84% of 8-12-year-olds using platforms intended for over-13s

➡️ Platforms are being challenged not only on moderation, but on why harmful content is being recommended in the first place

At Smoothwall, we see the importance of this every day. Effective safeguarding relies on visibility, early identification of risk, and the ability to intervene - not simply restricting access.

As regulation evolves, the focus must remain on how these measures are implemented in practice, ensuring meaningful protection for children and young people online.

Read more via the link in the comments.

Some of the biggest social media and gaming platforms have committed to new steps to better protect children online.

This includes:

🙅‍♂️ stronger protections to stop unwanted contact from strangers
🆕 making sure children’s safety is considered upfront before new features are introduced.

But there’s still more to do.

🔴 Nearly 3 in 4 children still see harmful content online
🔴 84% of 8–12s are using services meant for over-13s

We'll be stepping up scrutiny of platforms, and have announced plans to drive further change and hold platforms to account.

20/05/2026

In further education, safeguarding concerns are getting harder to spot.

Why? Because they often emerge first, and sometimes only, in digital spaces - where what young people do, say and share isn’t always visible.

Some college DSLs rely on web filtering to see the signs of students at risk, but this technology cannot spot the majority of threats students face online.

And if left unseen, these risks can quickly escalate…

Meet Liam and Tamara.

Both are at risk.
Both need support.
Both face very different outcomes.

Read their stories 👉 https://hubs.la/Q04hhJKm0