Online Safety in UK Schools: The E-Safety Guide
Online safety is no longer an ICT topic. It runs through the curriculum, the safeguarding policy, staff training, device rules and the way the school talks to parents.
This guide pulls those threads together for DSLs, computing and PSHE leads, IT staff and governors, and shows where web filtering fits without overstating what it does.
E-safety or online safety?
Both terms describe the same work. "E-safety" was common when risks came mostly through school computers. Guidance in England now says "online safety", because risk travels through phones, consoles, apps, smart speakers and AI tools.
What it covers
- Harmful and illegal content
- Contact from people who mean harm
- Pupils' own behaviour online
- Scams, gambling-style features and pressure to buy
- Wellbeing, screen time and digital footprints
Who it involves
- Pupils, at every age
- All staff, through training
- The designated safeguarding lead
- Governors and trustees
- Parents and carers
Where it lives
- The taught curriculum
- The child protection policy
- Acceptable use agreements
- Filtering and monitoring systems
- The school's culture and conversations
Give the content layer of your online safety plan a working filter
Teaching, policy and supervision carry most of online safety, but someone still has to decide which categories of site open on a pupil's device. Our hosted CIPA filter lets you make that choice school by school without installing anything.
- Categories are switched on or off in one console, and a change lands in seconds
- Optional categories such as Gambling and Weapons stay yours to choose
- Over-blocking is fixed with an always-allow entry for that school
The four Cs of online safety
Keeping Children Safe in Education groups online risk into four areas. They are a planning tool: for each one, ask what you teach, what your policy says and which control, if any, helps.
Content
Being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material, such as pornography, self-harm promotion, extremist material, misinformation and conspiracy content.
Teach: spotting unreliable sources, what to do when something upsetting appears.
Contact
Being subjected to harmful interaction with other users, including peer pressure, grooming, and adults posing as children to exploit them.
Teach: who you are really talking to, privacy settings, telling a trusted adult.
Conduct
Personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm, such as sharing nude images, online bullying or posting things that cannot be taken back.
Teach: consent, kindness, the permanence of posts, the law on images.
Commerce
Risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and financial scams, including pressure in games to spend money.
Teach: how scams work, in-game spending, protecting accounts and passwords.
| Risk area | Main response | Where web filtering helps | Where it cannot help |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content | Teaching plus filtering on school systems | Blocks categories such as Adult, Violence, Hate/Discrimination, Weapons and Illegal Drugs; enforces safe search | Content on personal phones using mobile data; content shared privately in apps |
| Contact | Teaching, reporting routes, safeguarding process | Can restrict chat-heavy categories such as Dating and some Social Networking on school devices | Messages inside allowed platforms and on personal devices |
| Conduct | Teaching, behaviour policy, pastoral support | Limited: can block anonymous posting sites | How pupils treat each other online |
| Commerce | Teaching, parent guidance | Blocks Gambling and Malware / Phishing / Suspicious categories, and can limit Shopping or Cryptocurrency | In-app purchases on home consoles and phones |
Everyday sites mapped to the four Cs
The four Cs are easier to plan once you see how familiar sites are labelled. Many sit in more than one category, so a school can treat the video side of a site differently from its chat side.
| Site | Categories in our data | Where the risk may sit |
|---|---|---|
| roblox.com | Gaming | Contact, through in-game chat |
| youtube.com | Streaming Media, Social Networking | Content, and comment threads |
| snapchat.com | Social Networking | Conduct, through shared images |
| chatgpt.com | AI / LLM Tools | Content and conduct, depending on use |
| bet365.com | Gambling, Sports & Recreation | Commerce |
Online safety in the curriculum
In England, online safety is part of statutory teaching through two routes: RSHE and computing. Non-statutory DfE guidance and a UKCIS framework help schools plan it across ages.
RSHE
Relationships Education (primary), Relationships and Sex Education (secondary) and Health Education became statutory in 2020. They include online relationships, being safe online and internet safety and harms.
Computing
The national curriculum for computing expects pupils to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly, and to know how to report concerns, from key stage 1 onwards.
Teaching online safety
The DfE's non-statutory guidance on teaching online safety helps schools weave it into existing subjects rather than treat it as a one-off assembly.
Revised RSHE guidance: the DfE published updated RSHE statutory guidance in July 2025, which applies from 1 September 2026. It adds or strengthens secondary content on topics such as sextortion, deepfakes and AI-generated content, online misogyny and the harms of pornography. Check the current document for the exact wording.
Education for a Connected World: eight strands
The UK Council for Internet Safety framework (2020 edition) sets out what pupils should know and be able to do at different ages. Many schools use it to map coverage.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own curricula and safeguarding guidance. Schools there should check their nation's current documents; the principles on this page still apply.
What online safety teaching looks like at each stage
Good online safety teaching grows with pupils. These are typical themes, written as a planning aid rather than a scheme of work.
| Stage | Typical themes | Useful classroom habit |
|---|---|---|
| Early years and KS1 | Asking a grown-up before going online, what to do if something feels wrong, keeping personal details private | A class routine for "close the screen and tell an adult" |
| KS2 | Online friends, kind communication, passwords, recognising adverts, age ratings on games and apps | Comparing two websites and deciding which to trust |
| KS3 | Image sharing and consent, group chats, influencers, scams, online reputation, misinformation | Short case studies discussed in small groups |
| KS4 | The law on images, sextortion, harmful online cultures, gambling-style features, AI-generated content | Debates on platform responsibility and personal choices |
| Post-16 | Online identity for work and study, financial scams, relationships, privacy rights | Reviewing one's own digital footprint before applications |
The online safety policies a school needs
There is no single required template. What inspectors, governors and parents look for is a clear written approach that matches what really happens in school.
| Policy or document | What it should cover | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Online safety policy (stand-alone or in child protection policy) | The school's approach to the four Cs, teaching, reporting routes, roles, links to other policies | DSL with senior leadership |
| Acceptable use agreements | Separate versions for pupils (age-appropriate), staff, volunteers and visitors; filtering and logging stated plainly | DSL and IT lead |
| Mobile phone and device policy | When phones may be used, take-home devices, hotspots, bring-your-own devices on Wi-Fi | Headteacher and senior team |
| Filtering and monitoring arrangements | What is filtered, how monitoring works, who reviews it, how often, how changes are agreed | Senior leader responsible, with IT |
| Staff code of conduct | Professional use of social media and messaging, contact with pupils online | Headteacher |
| Data protection documents | Privacy notices, DPIA for filtering and monitoring, retention of logs | Data protection officer |
For the data protection side, see web filtering and GDPR in schools. For the DfE's phone guidance and wider policy context, see the UK filtering and monitoring hub.
Who does what in online safety
Online safety fails when everyone assumes IT has it covered. KCSIE spreads responsibility across named roles.
Designated safeguarding lead
Takes lead responsibility for safeguarding, including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring in place. Receives and acts on concerns.
Governors and trustees
Make sure appropriate filtering and monitoring are in place and reviewed, and that online safety is part of training and the curriculum.
Senior leadership
A senior leader is responsible for filtering and monitoring arrangements and for the annual review, working with the DSL and IT.
IT staff or provider
Run and test the technical systems, apply agreed changes, and report problems or gaps to the DSL and senior leader.
All teaching staff
Teach online safety, supervise device use in lessons, and pass on concerns. KCSIE expects online safety training as part of safeguarding training.
Parents and carers
Reinforce learning at home and manage home devices and connections, which school systems cannot see.
Role detail for England is set out in KCSIE filtering and monitoring and the DfE filtering and monitoring standards.
Where web filtering fits in online safety
Filtering is the part of online safety that IT can switch on. It matters, but it is only one layer, and guidance warns against filtering so heavily that teaching suffers.
What filtering does
- Reduces pupils' exposure to harmful and illegal websites on school networks and devices.
- Blocks routes around the filter, such as proxy and VPN services.
- Enforces safe search and limits categories that are not needed for learning.
- Produces records that the DSL and senior leader can review.
- Can follow managed devices home when the filter runs on the device.
What filtering does not do
- Teach pupils to recognise and handle risk.
- See personal phones on mobile data.
- Read messages or judge a pupil's wellbeing.
- Replace staff supervision or the safeguarding process.
- Decide on its own what is appropriate for each age group.
Category filtering in practice: website category filtering is one layer. When filter records raise a worry, the concern goes to the DSL under the school's safeguarding process. For the difference between tools, see filtering vs monitoring vs classroom management.
Accurate categories keep both under-blocking and over-blocking down. The category database covers 120 million domains in 58 filtering categories, and the hosted filter applies them at DNS level. You can look up any site with the domain checker.
The same rules on a laptop at home
A private encrypted link keeps a school's category rules on laptops and phones that leave the building, so the plan does not stop at the gate. Activity reports and a policy record give each term's check something concrete to read.
An online safety calendar for the school year
Online safety sticks when it recurs. A simple termly rhythm keeps teaching, policy and technical checks moving together.
Autumn term
- Staff training refresh, including filtering and monitoring roles
- Pupil and staff acceptable use agreements signed
- Check new edition of KCSIE and update policies
- Parent information session on home devices
Spring term
- Safer Internet Day activities in February
- Pupil voice survey on online life
- Mid-year test of filtering on all networks and devices
- Review incidents and trends with the DSL
Summer term
- Annual review of filtering and monitoring
- Update curriculum map against RSHE and computing
- Plan transition messages for pupils moving school
- Brief governors on the year's findings
The filtering and monitoring annual review checklist gives the summer review a ready structure.
Working with parents and carers
Most pupils spend more time online at home than in school. Parents are the ones who can act on home devices and connections, so online safety needs them on board.
Explain what school covers
- Which networks and devices are filtered
- Whether take-home devices are filtered off site
- That personal phones on mobile data are outside school systems
Share practical steps
- Home router and broadband controls
- Age ratings for games and apps
- Family agreements on screen time and bedrooms
- Who to contact at school with a worry
Keep it regular
- Short termly newsletter items, not one long letter
- Sessions timed with new device rollouts
- Updates when a new app trend reaches pupils
Common online safety gaps schools find
When schools review their approach, the same gaps come up again and again. Use this list as a quick self-check before your annual review.
| Gap | Why it matters | Quick fix |
|---|---|---|
| Policy describes a filter setup that has since changed | Governors and inspectors read the policy, not the console | Check policy against settings each summer |
| Guest and staff Wi-Fi filtered differently without a reason | Pupils find the weaker network quickly | Document each network's rules and why |
| Online safety taught only in one week or one subject | Learning fades without repetition | Map themes across RSHE, computing and tutor time |
| Staff unsure how to report an online concern | Concerns stall or get lost | One clear route to the DSL, repeated in training |
| No one tests the filter on take-home devices | Rules that work in school may fail on home broadband | Test a managed device off site each term and record the result |
| Pupil voice missing from the review | Pupils know which apps and tricks are current long before adults do | A short anonymous survey or a pupil digital leaders group |
| Over-blocking of curriculum sites | Teachers find workarounds and trust in the filter drops | A fast request and review process for blocked sites |
Online safety, the law and platform duties
Schools are not the only ones with duties. Platforms now carry legal duties too, and some school topics overlap with counter-extremism duties.
Online Safety Act 2023
Places duties on online services to protect children, enforced by Ofcom. It does not move duties from schools onto platforms. Read more in the Online Safety Act and schools.
Prevent duty
Schools must have due regard to preventing people being drawn into terrorism, which includes online radicalisation. See the Prevent duty and web filtering.
Inspection
Inspectors look at the effectiveness of safeguarding, which includes online safety. Being able to show policy, teaching and technical checks together is the strongest position.
What a filter adds to an online safety plan, and what it leaves alone
The rows below keep to the job a filter can honestly do for a school.
| Online safety need | Where it is mainly handled | What our hosted filter contributes |
|---|---|---|
| Blocking adult and gambling content | Filtering | Adult in the CIPA preset, Gambling as an optional category |
| Teaching pupils to judge sources | Curriculum and staff | Nothing: this is teaching, not blocking |
| Different rules for different ages | Policy and IT together | Separate settings per school or branch |
| Keeping to the plan off site | Device set-up | A private encrypted link on laptops and phones |
| Pupils trying to get round the filter | Filtering plus conversation | VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers blocked as a category |
| Showing governors what is in place | Policy file | Activity reports, policy record and log export |
Online safety in schools: FAQ
Is e-safety the same as online safety?
Yes, in practice. E-safety is the older term. Current guidance in England uses online safety, which better reflects that risks come through phones, games, apps and smart devices as well as computers.
Is online safety a statutory part of the curriculum in England?
Yes. Online safety is part of statutory Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education, and the computing curriculum expects pupils to use technology safely and responsibly at every key stage. Revised RSHE guidance applies from 1 September 2026.
What are the four Cs of online safety?
Keeping Children Safe in Education groups online risks into four areas: content, contact, conduct and commerce. They help schools plan teaching, policies and technical controls so that each type of risk is covered.
Does a school need a separate online safety policy?
There is no single required format. Many schools have a stand-alone online safety policy; others include it in the child protection policy. What matters is that the approach is written down, covers filtering, monitoring, devices and teaching, and is reviewed regularly.
Is a web filter enough to keep pupils safe online?
No. Filtering reduces exposure to harmful websites on school systems. It does not teach pupils to handle risk, it does not cover personal phones on mobile data, and it does not replace the school's safeguarding process. It is one layer among several.
Who leads on online safety in a school?
In England the designated safeguarding lead takes lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring in place. Governors and senior leaders make sure the arrangements work.
More UK online safety guidance
Related guides
- Ofsted Online Safety Inspection: What Inspectors Look At
- The Online Safety Act: What It Means for Schools
- KCSIE Filtering and Monitoring: What Schools Must Do in 2026
- Safe Web Browsing for Schools
- SEND Pupils and Web Filtering: Access, Assistive Tech, Safety
- School Filtering Guidance in Wales and Scotland
Pricing is set by how many schools and devices you have, and our quote lands within one business day. A pilot on one school means you can look at the blocks and reports before committing to the rest.
Make the filtering layer of your online safety work
Tell us about your school or trust. We will show how accurate category data and a hosted DNS filter support your online safety approach without blocking learning.
Talk to us about your school