UK Safer Internet Centre Announces Accredited Filtering Systems for UK Schools and Colleges

The UK Safer Internet Centre (UK SIC) has announced that Netsweeper is among one of the first three filtering systems to be accredited under the new filtering accreditation scheme provided by the UK SIC.

As technology has developed, so have Filtering and Monitoring systems. The ever-changing online landscape has made this an increasingly complex area where schools and colleges have evidently needed more support in selecting, deploying and managing their filtering and monitoring systems.

Filtering Accreditation Scheme

The newly introduced accreditation scheme builds on the appropriate filtering and monitoring guidance provided by the UK Safer Internet Centre since it was first published in 2016. For schools in England, these have been embedded in Keeping children safe in education – GOV.UK and subsequently Filtering and monitoring standards for schools and colleges – Guidance – GOV.UK to help schools (and IT providers) comprehend what should be considered as ‘appropriate’ filtering and monitoring.

Using these appropriate filtering standards, the UK Safer Internet Centre, in partnership with the University of Bristol (REPHRAIN), assesses both the technical capabilities of filtering systems as well as verify their suitability for use in schools and colleges, to provide further trust and confidence in what systems schools decide to implement.

Accredited Systems

UK SIC has announced that Netsweeper is one of the three providers that have successfully passed the assessment process and have achieved an accredited filtering system status. The UK Safer Internet Centre is now working on accrediting more filtering systems and will announce more in due course.

David Wright (Director of UK Safer Internet Centre) said: ‘To have this scheme in place, will afford schools and colleges greater confidence about the selection, suitability and effectiveness of their filtering systems. We have seen first-hand the importance of filtering and monitoring systems, and now, this added layer of validation can support schools to strengthen their own protections against harmful online content. We recognise Lightspeed, Netsweeper and Smoothwall to have filtering systems suitable for schools and colleges and invite other providers to join the initiative.’

Visit UK Safer Internet Centre for more information about the accreditation.