Pastoral Alerting & Digital Safety: Rethinking How Schools Identify and Respond to Wellbeing Cues in the Digital Space

April 2, 2025

Jazmin Mignaquy
ANZ Marketing Director

In a time of increasing digital complexity, schools are being asked to do more than ever to keep students safe. But with so much activity happening online—and often silently—it’s no longer enough to rely on traditional tools like filtering and firewalls. What’s needed now is a smarter, more human approach to digital safety: one that focuses on early signals, context, and real-time visibility.

That’s why we created this three-part series. To help school leaders, IT teams and wellbeing staff better understand:

  • How monitoring has evolved beyond surveillance into a tool for student care
  • Why contextualised  alerts and human moderation  are crucial for effective safeguarding
  • Where pastoral alerting and reporting fits into the digital safety ecosystem
And how to shift the conversation from “always-on risk” to school-hours visibility and early intervention

Whether you’re leading a 1:1 device program or reviewing your school's wellbeing strategy, this series offers practical insights to help you make informed, confident decisions. And if you’re wondering how other schools are approaching this—or have questions along the way—we’re always up for a conversation.

Read Part 1 below, and click the links for Parts 2 and 3 to complete the series:

Part 2 The Evolution of School Monitoring: The Critical Role of Human Oversight
Part 3 From Hesitation to Confidence: What Pastoral Alerting Can Do During School Hours

Rethinking Red Flags: Why Digital Safety Alerts Are Also a Pastoral Responsibility

For years, schools have implemented firewalls and filtering systems to manage internet access and ensure students stay within safe online boundaries. These tools were built to block restricted content, log internet activity, and provide visibility into search behaviours. Over time, however, many schools have started using these tools to flag student behaviour, assuming that keyword-based alerts from filters can serve as indicators of student safety concerns.

But there’s a major flaw in this approach: filter logs and firewall reports were never designed to provide real safeguarding alerts. Schools that rely on them to detect wellbeing risks may end up drowning in false-positive noise, missing the very students who need urgent intervention.

 

The Problem with Traditional Filtering ‘Alerts’

Filtering and firewall systems fall under IT security—not student safeguarding. They do a great job at restricting access to inappropriate content, but they lack the sophistication needed to detect real risks to student wellbeing. This leads to several issues:

Lack of Context

A search containing a flagged keyword doesn’t necessarily mean a student is at risk. Without knowing the intent, these flags can generate false positives that waste time as staff investigate these flags.

Noise Overload

Schools receive an overwhelming number of red flags. IT teams and pastoral care staff spend hours investigating dead ends, meaning real concerns can be missed.

Misaligned Use Case

Many schools have used firewall logs and filter reports as alerts when they were never designed for that. These tools track behaviour, but they don’t interpret risk.

 

Understanding the Two Categories: IT Monitoring vs. Student Wellbeing Safeguarding

To truly support students, schools need to recognise the fundamental difference between traditional filtering solutions and dedicated digital monitoring for student wellbeing.

Traditional Filtering & Firewalls

Wellbeing & Safeguarding Monitoring

Blocks access to restricted content

Detects wellbeing risks (e.g., self-harm, cyberbullying)

Flags web activity based on keywords

Uses AI and human moderation to assess intent and urgency

Provides logs and reports for IT teams

Provides real-time alerts for pastoral care staff

Designed for network security

Designed for proactive student intervention

 

Why Monitoring Alerts Are a Pastoral Issue

When it comes to student wellbeing, context is everything. A filter system may flag a single search, but a wellbeing concern is rarely an isolated event. Students who are struggling often leave digital breadcrumbs—patterns of behaviour that, when assessed together, paint a picture of a student in need of support.

Filtering systems block content and log activity, but they cannot interpret patterns of behaviour or the build-up of warning signs, such as shifts in language, repeated exposure to distressing content, or changes in online engagement. Therefore, monitoring alerts require a holistic assessment, prioritising student well-being over technical policy enforcement.

Wellbeing concerns are rarely isolated incidents triggered by a single keyword; they typically involve a series of interactions, searches, and behaviours within the digital space. While firewalls cannot detect these patterns, monitoring systems designed for safeguarding can. AI can assist in this assessment to a point, but the most effective systems rely heavily on critical human moderation.

 

The Shift: From IT Monitoring to Wellbeing & Safeguarding

Schools are rethinking why and how they track student behaviour online. Instead of just flagging restricted activity (e.g. gaming, VPN use), the focus is shifting to identifying digital behaviours that signal a wellbeing concern.

That means:

  • Moving from "Is this student bypassing the system?" to "Is this a sign of distress?"
  • Moving from filter reports & logs to true risk detection
  • Recognising that firewall reports ≠ student safety alerts

 

If a School Wants Real Alerts, They Need the Right Tool

A truly effective digital monitoring system needs more than just AI—it requires human oversight to distinguish between concerning patterns and harmless digital activity.

Why is human moderation critical?

Interpreting Intent
AI can detect flagged keywords, but only a human can assess tone, context, and behavioural patterns over time. A single flagged term doesn’t tell the full story, but repeated distressing searches combined with changes in online behaviour signal deeper concerns.

Reducing False Positives
Automated systems often flag benign searches, creating noise and unnecessary escalations. Human moderators help filter out non-issues by providing schools with contextual screen captures and messages, ensuring staff only focus on real concerns.

Providing Meaningful Escalation
Some digital behaviours require immediate action, while others may indicate a long-term wellbeing issue that needs ongoing support. Human moderators can categorise alerts, helping schools prioritise and act accordingly.

Schools relying on filter logs or basic AI-driven keyword detection will inevitably miss students who need real support. A monitoring system designed for safeguarding ensures that every alert is validated, meaningful, and actionable.

Filter reporting and logs are NOT alerts. They provide data, but they don’t provide meaningful intervention points. If a school wants to detect risks and escalate genuine concerns, they need a dedicated monitoring solution—something built for wellbeing and safeguarding, not just IT security.

If a school is using filter logs to spot a student who needs immediate support, they will miss a child that needs immediate support.

 

The Case for Investing in a Purpose-Built Alerting Solution

The shift from IT-driven filtering to wellbeing-focused monitoring isn't just a philosophical one—it's a practical necessity. With schools seeing rising levels of online risks and mental health challenges, relying on basic keyword triggers simply isn't good enough.

Consider this:

  • In 2024, every 52 seconds, Linewize Monitor identified a student potentially in serious distress.
  • Every 4 hours, a child was flagged as involved in a potentially serious cyberbullying, bullying or violent incident.
  • Every 5 hours, a child was identified as being potentially involved in a situation posing a risk to health or life.

These aren’t theoretical risks—they’re real, ongoing challenges that schools are facing daily. And yet, many schools are still relying on tools that were designed for bandwidth management, not student wellbeing.

 

Linewize Monitor: The Right Tool for the Job

Linewize Monitor is built for student safety. Unlike traditional filtering, it:

Understands context—looking beyond keywords to assess intent

Filters out the noise—reducing false positives

Provides real alerts—so wellbeing teams get notified when action is needed, not overwhelmed with unnecessary flags

Leverages expert human moderators—to ensure every serious case is assessed with insight and empathy before escalation.

 

By making the shift from IT monitoring to meaningful student safeguarding, schools can ensure critical issues aren’t lost in a sea of irrelevant flags. Schools that want real alerts for real concerns need a tool designed for student wellbeing—not just internet filtering.

 

Have Questions or Want to Talk It Through?

If, throughout this series, you’ve found yourself with questions or would like to explore how these ideas apply to your school, we’d love to hear from you.

Linewize can work with you to:

  • Identify where pastoral alerting fits in your current approach
  • Explore the right blend of tools, people, and policies
  • Connect you with schools who are making the most of this technology—with developed processes, procedures, and real results.

Get in touch to start the conversation and discuss whether this technology is right for your school setting. 





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