Protected, not shut out.
Young people learn, connect and look for help online. DNS Angel gives your school limits that hold for everyone, and gives teachers a way to allow the sites a lesson needs, for that lesson. It never watches students' screens.
Being online is part of growing up, and of learning
Most young people get real good from being online. Many also take risks they don't always see. A school's job is to hold both: keep the worst of the web out, and keep learning in.
Students name teachers as their second most common source of advice on staying safe online, after their parents. DNS Angel builds on that: the adult who knows the lesson decides what opens.
- 80%
- said being online helped their interests, hobbies or creativity
- 12%
- had looked for mental health or wellbeing information in the past four weeks
- 55%
- had done something that could increase their exposure to harm
- 76%
- had heard about staying safe online from teachers (83% from parents or carers)
A trusted adult decides what opens
What a student experiences when a lesson needs a site your school blocks.
- 10:58
The video for Period 3 is blocked
A student in Lab 12 finds youtube.com blocked, as it is for students at your school. They tell Ms Nguyen.
- 11:00
Ms Nguyen allows it for the lesson
youtube.com, for Lab 12, for 45 minutes, from a phone in the room. The person who knows the lesson and the class makes the call.
- 11:05
It opens for that room only
Usually within about 5 minutes. Everything your school always blocks stays blocked.
- 11:45
Access ends by itself
The record shows who allowed it, where, and when it ended. No alert about any student goes to anyone.
What DNS Angel doesn't do, and what it records
DNS Angel never
- Watch students' screens
- Read their messages or documents
- Score their wellbeing or behaviour
- Send alerts about what a student browses
- Build profiles of students
What is recorded
- Teachers' allows
- Who allowed which site, for which room or class, when it started and how it ended. A record of adult decisions, and it can't be edited.
- Blocked sites
- Like any web filter, the DNS Agent logs blocked sites with the user, computer and time, for security and troubleshooting. Before you sign up, we'll tell you how long it's kept and who can see it.
One layer of care among many
A filter can't teach judgement or build trust. Teachers, wellbeing staff and families do that. DNS Angel makes it easier to teach with the real internet, within limits that hold.
eSafety's advice to schools is that filters should complement online safety education, not replace it. Some sites stay blocked for every class, whoever is teaching: adult content, gambling, self-harm content, malware and phishing, plus anything on your school's own Never allow list. Teachers can't allow those.
Words for your families and students
Families are partners in this, and students deserve to know how it works. Copy these, then make them your own.
Our school uses DNS Angel to filter the web on school computers. Some sites, such as adult content and gambling, are blocked for everyone, always. When a lesson needs a site that's usually blocked, like a YouTube video, the teacher can open it for their class or room for that lesson, and it closes again by itself. Each time a teacher does this, it's recorded. DNS Angel doesn't watch students' screens or read their messages. If you have questions, please contact the school office.
If a site you need for class is blocked, ask your teacher. They can open it for your lesson. Some sites stay blocked for everyone, whoever is teaching.
How it fits the frameworks you work within
DNS Angel helps you show your approach. It doesn't make a school compliant on its own.
| Framework | What it asks of schools | How DNS Angel helps you show it |
|---|---|---|
| National Principle 8, and your state's Child Safe Standard | Reduce online risk without compromising students' access to information and learning. | Limits that hold for every class, and a way for teachers to allow learning sites for a lesson. |
| eSafety Toolkit for Schools | Filters that allow age-appropriate content for learning, and regular reporting to leadership. | Teachers allow blocked learning sites within your limits. Every allow is recorded and can be exported. |
| Australian Student Wellbeing Framework | Partnerships with families, and student voice. | Plain words for families and students, and a record that answers "why was that site open in class?" |
| UN General Comment No. 25 | Filtering only to stop harmful material. No routine surveillance of children. | Categories of harmful sites are blocked. Nobody watches screens or flags students. |
What DNS Angel can't do
- Replace teaching, relationships or counselling
- Find students at risk, or send wellbeing alerts
- Cover personal phones, home internet, or devices without the DNS Agent
- Enforce the social media minimum age
Questions wellbeing leaders ask
Something else? Ask us directly.
Does DNS Angel watch students' screens or read their messages?
No. DNS Angel doesn't watch screens, read messages or documents, or score students. Like any web filter, the DNS Agent logs blocked sites with the user, computer and time, for security and troubleshooting.
Can parents see what their child browsed?
No. DNS Angel's record is of what teachers allowed, for which room or class, not of a child's browsing. It helps a school answer a family's question about why a site was open in class.
Who decides what's always blocked?
Your school does, with IronSights. Adult content, gambling, malware, phishing, self-harm content and similar are blocked for every school, and your school adds its own Never allow list. Teachers can't allow either.
What if a student needs information that's blocked?
They ask a teacher, who can allow a learning site for the lesson if it's within your school's limits. Your wellbeing and IT leads decide together what goes on your own Never allow list.
How do we explain the filter to students and families?
Start with the words on this page and adapt them to your school. Students mostly need to know who to ask; families want to know what's blocked, who can allow what, and what is and isn't recorded.
Does DNS Angel help with our child safe standards?
It helps you show how your online environment is kept safe: what's blocked, who can allow what, for how long, and what actually happened. It doesn't make a school compliant on its own.
Does DNS Angel keep students off social media?
No. The social media minimum age is the platforms' duty to enforce. DNS Angel filters school computers with the DNS Agent; it doesn't cover personal phones or home internet.
Sources
- Connected, curious, cautious: children's engagement in the digital world (eSafety Commissioner, June 2026)
- Online safety self-assessment tool, Toolkit for Schools (eSafety Commissioner)
- National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (Australian Human Rights Commission)
- Child safety in physical and online environments, Child Safe Standard 9 (Victorian Government)
- The Australian Student Wellbeing Framework (Australian Government Department of Education)
- General comment No. 25 on children's rights in relation to the digital environment (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2021)
Bring your wellbeing lead to the demo.
See what's always blocked, what teachers can allow and for how long, and exactly what's recorded. Then decide whether it fits your school's approach to care.