# Who is responsible for online safety in schools? Source page: https://pupilprotect.co.uk/guides/online-safety-lead-role Last updated: 2026-10-20 Publisher: Pupil Protect (Glacier Labs Ltd) > The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) takes lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, and Keeping children safe in education 2026 says this includes online safety and understanding filtering and monitoring. It should be written into the DSL's job description. There is no statutory "online safety lead" or "digital safeguarding lead" role. Schools can give online safety work to other staff, but lead responsibility stays with the DSL. ## The short answer **The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is responsible for online safety.** Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) 2026 says the DSL "should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place)". It adds: "This should be explicit in the role holder's job description" (paragraph 127 and Annex B). So online safety isn't a separate job that sits outside safeguarding. It is part of the DSL's job. ## Is there an official online safety lead? **No.** Neither KCSIE 2026 nor the DfE's filtering and monitoring standards create a role called "online safety lead", "e-safety coordinator" or "digital safeguarding lead". We checked both on 20 October 2026. These titles are common in schools, and some writers have argued for a dedicated digital safeguarding role in every school. That is a proposal, not a requirement. If your school uses one of these titles, treat it as a local role that supports the DSL, not one that replaces them. The only named roles in the guidance are: | Role | Where it comes from | What it covers | |---|---|---| | Designated safeguarding lead | KCSIE paragraph 127, Annex B | Lead responsibility for safeguarding, including online safety and understanding filtering and monitoring | | Deputy DSL | KCSIE paragraph 130, Annex B | Can carry out the DSL's work if trained to the same standard | | Senior leader responsible for filtering and monitoring | DfE filtering and monitoring standards, KCSIE paragraph 173 | Making sure the standards are met, leading the annual review | | Governor responsible for filtering and monitoring | DfE filtering and monitoring standards | Governance oversight of the standards | ## What can be delegated KCSIE Annex B says the DSL's activities "can be delegated to appropriately trained deputies", but "the ultimate lead responsibility for child protection ... remains with the designated safeguarding lead" and "should not be delegated". In practice, that gives schools three options: 1. **The DSL does it.** Common in small schools. 2. **A deputy DSL leads on online safety day to day.** They must be trained to the same standard as the DSL, and the role should be in their job description (KCSIE paragraph 130 and Annex B). This suits schools with a high volume of online cases. 3. **Another member of staff coordinates online safety teaching and resources.** For example, a computing or PSHE lead. They are not dealing with safeguarding cases. Any concern about a child still goes to the DSL or a deputy. Whatever you choose, write it down. Staff should know who to go to, and the job descriptions should match. ## Filtering and monitoring: who does what The DfE's filtering and monitoring standards split the work four ways: - **Governors and proprietors** have overall strategic responsibility. They should name **a member of the senior leadership team and a governor** to be responsible for meeting the standards. - **The senior leadership team** scopes what the school needs, including for generative AI. It buys the systems, documents what is blocked and why, reviews how well they work and oversees reports. - **The DSL** leads on safeguarding and online safety. That includes checking reports, responding to concerns that filtering and monitoring raise, and assuring governors that the systems work. - **IT support**, in-house or contracted, maintains the systems, provides reports and acts on checks. KCSIE 2026 says the annual review should be carried out by "the SLT member responsible for filtering and monitoring, with the support of the school's designated safeguarding lead and IT support" (paragraph 173). The DSL can be that senior leader as well, if they are on the leadership team, but they don't have to be. For the review itself, see our guide to [filtering and monitoring in schools](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/filtering-and-monitoring). ## What the DSL needs to know Annex B says the DSL's training should help them "understand the unique risks associated with online safety" and have "the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep children safe whilst they are online". It also asks them to recognise the additional risks online for children with SEND. KCSIE 2026 groups online risks into four areas: content, contact, conduct and commerce (paragraph 165). It has added generative AI to the contact risk, and AI-generated explicit images to the conduct risk. ## What everyone else does - **All staff** get online safety training at induction, including what is expected of them on filtering and monitoring. They get updates at least once a year (paragraph 12). - **Governors** make online safety "a running and interrelated theme" across policies, the curriculum, staff training and the DSL's role (paragraph 166). - **The child protection policy** sets out the school's approach to online safety, including filtering and monitoring (paragraph 169). - **Leaders** should consider an annual review of the school's whole approach to online safety, backed by a risk assessment (paragraph 181). KCSIE suggests the 360 safe tool or the LGfL online safety audit, and the UKCIS questions for governing boards (paragraph 182). ## Questions **Who is responsible for online safety in schools?** The designated safeguarding lead. KCSIE 2026 says the DSL takes lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring systems, and that this should be explicit in their job description. Governors have strategic responsibility, a named senior leader is responsible for meeting the filtering and monitoring standards, and all staff have a part to play. **Who has lead responsibility for online safety in the school?** The DSL. Paragraph 127 and Annex B of KCSIE 2026 give the DSL lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, "including online safety". Deputies can carry out the work if they are trained to the same standard, but lead responsibility should not be delegated. **Is a digital safeguarding lead a statutory role?** No. There is no "digital safeguarding lead" or "online safety lead" in KCSIE 2026 or the DfE's filtering and monitoring standards. Some schools give an online safety coordinator or computing lead a role, and some commentators have called for a dedicated post. In the statutory guidance, lead responsibility for online safety sits with the DSL. **Can the computing lead be the online safety lead?** They can do a lot of the work, such as teaching online safety, running pupil surveys or keeping resources up to date. But concerns about a child must go to the DSL or a deputy, and the DSL keeps lead responsibility. If the computing lead is to handle safeguarding cases, they would need to be a deputy DSL, trained to the same standard. **Who is responsible for filtering and monitoring in schools?** The DfE standards say governors should name a member of the senior leadership team and a governor to be responsible for meeting the standards. The DSL leads on acting on what filtering and monitoring show. IT support, in-house or contracted, runs the systems and provides reports. ## Sources - [Keeping children safe in education 2026 (DfE, statutory guidance, in force from 1 September 2026): paragraphs 12, 127 to 131, 153 to 156, 164 to 169, 173 to 177 and 181 to 183, and Annex B](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ac3c09c11ed58342ad8e4ac/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2026.pdf), checked 2026-10-20 - [Filtering and monitoring standards for schools and colleges (DfE, Meeting digital and technology standards, updated 16 September 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/filtering-and-monitoring-core-standard), checked 2026-10-20 - [Keeping children safe in education: GOV.UK page listing the current version](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2), checked 2026-10-20 ## Related - [Filtering and monitoring in schools](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/filtering-and-monitoring): The DfE standards, the annual review and the checks log in detail. - [What is a designated safeguarding lead?](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/dsl) - [Deputy DSL role](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/deputy-dsl) - [Sharing nudes and semi-nudes in schools](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/sharing-nudes) - [DSL training dates](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/tools/dsl-training-dates): Work out when the DSL team's training and annual refresh are due. - [Safeguarding and DSL jobs](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/jobs/role/safeguarding) ## In Pupil Protect In Pupil Protect Safeguard, a pattern alert flags 3 pupils in one form with online safety or child-on-child concerns within 14 days, so the DSL sees a group problem early. Filtering and monitoring compliance in Insight is coming soon. [See pattern alerts in Safeguard](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/safeguard#patterns)