In this episode of our #FinnemoreFireside series, Nick spoke to Douglas Hanley, founder of Utropolis – a startup tackling some of the biggest challenges in school web filtering and safeguarding. Douglas has held senior roles across big-name tech and edtech firms, and his new venture is aiming to change the game.

Here’s a taster of what we covered:

• The safeguarding challenges that persist in schools, and why many current filtering tools just aren’t up to the job

• Why it’s time for a new model: one that combines people, process and technology, not just better code

• The real-life classroom stories that show just how high the stakes are for teachers, students and IT teams alike

• How Utropolis plans to rethink policy management, turning it into a shared, collaborative effort (think GitHub for safeguarding)

• Why cloud-first filtering can offer instant protection in ways that device-level software never could

• The surprising role AI can play in staying ahead of online harms if used safely and alongside human insight

• The power of community-driven solutions, and why collaboration is the key to safer, smarter tech in schools

• Douglas’ honest reflections on bootstrapping, building the right team, and what’s next for Utropolis in the UK and beyond