Network Filtering & Monitoring
Protect your network and safeguard students and staff from potentially harmful, inappropriate online material.
Wavenet Education
How filtering and monitoring create safe learning spaces for your students
The Internet is a powerful tool for learning, providing endless resources and material at a user's fingertips. However, with internet access comes opportunities for your school to be exposed to harmful content and cyberattacks.
Luckily, these risks can be minimised to create a safe, beneficial online learning experience which protects both the school network and those using it. Solutions within our filtering and monitoring service offer comprehensive safeguarding against common online threats, making it easy for students to access useful content, and staff to monitor and manage what content they are exposed to.
Web and email filtering
Restrict your student and staff's exposure to harmful online and email content with effective web and email filtering.
Firewall protection
Ensure a robust first line of defence against cyber security for your school's network with versatile firewall protection.
Hardware options
We can help you identify the right hardware options for your school's unique network security challenges.
Integrate with existing applications
Restrict and monitor content on all your school's applications from a single comprehensive interface.
The Department of Education’s network filtering and monitoring standards
- Identify and assign role restrictions - To ensure staff and students provide a safe online learning environment, network filtering and monitoring systems should have clear set roles and responsibilities for internal staff and any third-party IT support personnel. Designated individuals should work together to make informed decisions on the school's network filtering and monitoring systems which help to cultivate a safe and effective online landscape.
- Annually review filtering and monitoring - Filtering and monitoring systems on a school's network should be reviewed annually to ensure the continued effectiveness of current systems. The results of these reviews should be recorded either independently or as part of a wider online safety review and be made available to any individuals who are entitled to inspect the information.
- Minimise impact on learning environments - The DfE understands and highlights that no filtering system can be 100% effective. As a result, understanding your system's coverage and limitations is crucial for ensuring that it effectively blocks access to harmful websites and inappropriate content. This should be done without unnecessarily hindering teaching, learning, and a student's ability to assess and manage risks independently.
- Implement effective monitoring strategies - To create a safe environment for both students and staff, it’s essential to implement device monitoring both in person and through device and network management software. This management should include effective communication and training with staff on incident response and weekly monitoring reports highlighting areas of concern.
Firewall protection – your school network’s first line of defence from cyber threat
Firewall protection is your network's first line of protection against a cyber threat. With robust defences in place able to prioritise traffic based on source, destination, and content, your school's firewall safeguards students online without restricting their freedom to learn.
We individually design, maintain, and support firewall deployment for your school, ensuring a bespoke solution which manages network traffic and supports your tech requirements whilst being IWF, DfE, Ofsted, and KCSI compliant.
Key features include:
- Leading partnerships with network technology and cyber security providers.
- A vast range of hardware options to choose from.
- Fully, personalised support by our UK-based service desk.
- Configurable with a range of other services including VoIP and Wi-Fi.
- Hosted firewall (on-premises and cloud) or ‘edge’ firewall deployments available.
Email & web filtering solutions to enable the wellbeing of students and the protection of your networks
With the internet's powerful capabilities to provide access to an almost unlimited source of knowledge and resources, it also exposes schools to potential inappropriate content and cyber threats. Our email and web filtering options provide offline and online filtering solutions aligned with DfE standards to ensure the protection and well-being of your students, teachers, and network itself.
Web filtering with Netsweeper
Our web filtering service uses Netsweeper, a versatile solution specifically crafted for the education sector. Netsweeper equips schools with a comprehensive suite of education-specific filters which helps to ensure Prevent Duty compliance and provide a safe online learning environment whilst ensuring necessary access to teaching resources and materials.
Netsweeper features include:
- Customisable education-specific filtering.
- Comprehensive tracking and reporting.
- Protective alerts on suspicious activity.
Email filtering
To protect your staff and students from one of the most commonly occurring cyberattacks, we use MailProtect, a sophisticated, cloud-hosted email filtering system. MailProtect provides robust protection against email-borne threats including viruses, malware, fraud, and phishing to safeguard your school's email communications.
MailProtect features include:
- Cloud-based email filtering management.
- Reliable 'set and forget' features.
- Scalable and futureproof protection.
DfE funding scheme for better connectivity
Can your school take advantage of the additional £45 million DfE connectivity funding expected to be announced soon to help schools upgrade their network infrastructure? Wavenet has already secured over £7 million Connect the Classroom funding for other schools.
Why Wavenet
30+ Years Experience
Our teams have been delivering 'designed-for-schools' technology for over 30 years.
4,000 Schools Nationwide
We’ve already implemented 100s of networks in over 4,000 school environments.
Full Project Management
As an IBSL Approved Partner, we offer complete ICT solutions for your school.
DfE Compliant Solution
Tailored services that support compliance with DfE digital and technology standards.
Accredited DBS Checked Engineers
All our engineers undergo a thorough vetting process and possess extensive experience.
