Smoothwall Insights

Safeguarding Digital Darwinism: Why Educators Are Atruggling to Keep Pace

Smoothwall — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:06:05 GMT

When it comes to online risks, the pace of digital change is accelerating - and for many schools, colleges, and MATs, keeping up can feel increasingly challenging.

From evolving social media trends to the rapid rise of AI tools, the digital environments young people navigate today look very different to that of even a year ago. For those responsible for safeguarding, this constant change is creating what can be described as “Digital Darwinism” - where risks evolve faster than educators’ ability to keep up.

How the rise of ‘brain rot’ is driving digital burnout amongst students | Smoothwall

Smoothwall — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 16:51:33 GMT

‘Brain rot’ has become a popular piece of internet slang – used both to describe the feeling of consuming low-quality content as well as the content itself.

While often used humorously, the behaviour behind the term reflects a growing concern for educators across schools, colleges and MATs: the negative impact constantly consuming digital content can have on student focus and wellbeing.

Short-form video platforms, addictive algorithms, and endless social media scroll features mean young people can move rapidly from one piece of content to another, often without a natural break.

Over time, this constant stream can lead to mental fatigue and difficulty disengaging from online spaces - patterns that are showing up in students’ behaviour in the classroom.

AI Nudification in Schools: What Educators Need to Know | Smoothwall

Smoothwall — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:11:05 GMT

As AI platform Grok brings renewed national attention to nudification apps, our research highlights this is a much broader issue, already impacting UK schools, colleges, and MATs, and spreading far beyond a single platform.

Nudification apps use AI to generate fake, sexually explicit images by digitally altering photos of real people - often without their knowledge or consent. Tools like Grok, an AI chatbot integrated into the platform X, are part of a wider wave of generative AI technologies that can create highly realistic content quickly and with little technical skill.

With students actively using these tools to create imagery of their peers, the reality for educators is complex. AI-generated content is evolving rapidly - and this requires a faster, more coordinated response across the safeguarding ecosystem.

KCSIE 2026 Consultation: A Summary of the Key Changes & How to Respond

Smoothwall — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:08:45 GMT

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched the consultation on Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026. It details proposed changes to the guidelines that would come into effect in September.

The updates are intended to improve consistency across safeguarding systems, ensure terminology aligns with that used in related DfE guidelines, and highlight new safeguarding risks. This guide provides a summary of the main changes schools, colleges and MATs need to know.

New DfE IT Support Standards: The Updates Schools, Colleges & MATs Need to Know

Smoothwall — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:47:50 GMT

A new section on IT support standards has recently been added by the Department for Education to the Digital and Technology Standards in Schools and Colleges.

The guidance is relevant to all schools, colleges and MATs in England, with specific implications for internal IT teams, external IT service providers and senior leadership teams (SLTs). These are standards that the DfE expects education settings to already be meeting, or at least actively working towards meeting.

This article provides a summary of the new standards.

The Impact Digital Monitoring Has on FE Safeguarding: 4 Insights from our Roundtable Discussion

Smoothwall — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 13:59:15 GMT

Smoothwall recently hosted a roundtable discussion with leading safeguarding figures from further education. Kay Burton-Williams of BMet College and Nicola McLean & Diana Brown from United Colleges Group shared their experiences of using digital monitoring to spot online risks.

This article highlights 4 key insights they revealed in the discussion. A video of the full roundtable is available via the link at the bottom of the page.

Anti-Bullying Week: Practical Tips to Help School Communities Tackle Cyberbullying

Smoothwall — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 12:00:32 GMT

It’s Anti-Bullying Week 2025 and this year’s theme is: power for good. As proud supporters of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Smoothwall is contributing to their mission to empower children to do something positive to counter bullying - and we’re expanding it to the whole school community!

This article provides practical tips for students, parents and teachers on how to tackle the issue of cyberbullying.

Unmasking the Manosphere: What Schools and Parents Need to Know

Smoothwall — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 11:44:23 GMT

While concerns about screen time and social media influence are nothing new, one of the most dangerous - and possibly least understood - threats is quietly embedding itself in the digital spaces young people occupy every day: the manosphere.

The manosphere is a network of online communities that promote misogynistic and anti-feminist ideologies. It spans forums, social media accounts, and content creators, often presenting itself as harmless self-help or dating advice.

This article explores how these spaces are gradually introducing young people to harmful beliefs about gender, relationships, and consent, subsequently influencing how they think and behave both online and offline.

Digital Monitoring in Further Education: What it Looks Like & Why it’s Now Critical

Smoothwall — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:55:28 GMT

Keeping Children Safe in Education states that “it is essential” for colleges to ensure that “appropriate” monitoring systems are in place. Despite this, a significant number of UK colleges are relying on filter logs alone to identify vulnerable students online. Not only does this hinder compliance, but it puts students and the colleges themselves at risk.

This article explains what digital monitoring is and highlights the factors that make this form of safeguarding no longer optional, but critical in further education.

New Digital Risks in DfE Guidance: Misinformation and Disinformation

Smoothwall — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:53:48 GMT

The digital threats putting students at risk are constantly evolving. In response, the Department for Education (DfE) regularly updates its guidance to make schools, colleges and MATs aware of new online risks they need to address.

In this series, Smoothwall provides quick guides to digital risks included in DfE guidance, to help educators keep up with the changing safeguarding landscape.

This article covers misinformation and disinformation. Learn what these terms mean, how they pose a risk to students, and what settings can do to protect their communities and comply with DfE guidelines.