Monitoring Your School's Use of the Schools Broadband Service

Broadband Sandwell offers three levels of support for filtered internet access to schools

Level 1

• The schools broadband service is a filtered service, where resources are categorised according to the type of information that they contain. These categories are then blocked by the filtering system, so that users are kept safe.

• Included with this filter, all requests made for resources are logged.

• This logged information is kept for a period of up to 6 weeks. However, logs get very long very quickly, and so older logs are discarded to make room for newer information.

• Requests may be made by schools for copies of the logs that relate to their school, but work is required to provide these logs to schools, and so this may be chargeable.

• High Schools may also request an alternate filtering policy for use in their school, this may be more severe or less severe that the currenlty used default policy that is in place for most schools. Click here for more information.

Level 2

• In addition to the Level 1 service, the provision of a proxy server in the school would allow local logging of Internet activity.

• This proxy server would be stored on-site, and would be managed by the school staff, such as ICT technicians.

• Proxy servers have been provided to schools by Broadband Sandwell for a low cost for some time, your school may already be logging internet activity.

• If you have a proxy server, logs will be available from this server at any time. Broadband Sandwell can provide instructions for downloading and understanding these logs.

• Again, Logs use up disk space and so are not kept forever. Older logs are discarded periodically to make room for newer information.

Level 3

• Can be used in addition to Level 1 or Level 2.

• Extra software would be installed on each workstation to monitor unwanted activity. There are a number of such tools available, noteable among these are Policy Central and Securus.

• This monitoring software checks what is appearing on the computer screen and captures any screens where "interesting" language is being used. (this could include offensive language, language related to internet grooming, or any other language that the school wishes to configure.)

• At Broadband Sandwell we have experience of the use of both Policy Central and Securus, but can more easily support the use of Policy Central as the infrastructure requirements for this are already in place.

For more information about increasing your school's Internet Content Monitoring, please contact us