TO BE PUBLISHED May 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for children’s online safety in the UK.
It will bring together stakeholders with policymakers to examine priorities for strengthening protections for children online - including the role of schools. The agenda looks at the regulation of social media use, the role of platforms and regulators in addressing harmful content, and the interaction of practice in the school environment with wider developments in online safety policy and safeguarding practice. We also expect discussion on the Government’s consultation on establishing a Child Protection Authority in England.
It comes as the Government consults on children’s digital wellbeing as part of its wider approach to child protection and online harms, including proposals - advanced through ministerial statements and the consultation itself - to restrict social media use for under-16 year-olds. We expect discussion on practicalities related to recent Department for Education guidance on mobile phone use in schools - setting out an expectation of a phone-free school day - reflecting concerns about exposure to harmful content, distraction, and wellbeing, and its relationship with wider safeguarding responsibilities.
With Ofcom taking forward implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023, discussion will consider how these developments interact, the pace and sequencing of implementation, and what effective oversight looks like in practice as new requirements come into force. As part of this, we expect discussion to reflect Ofcom’s call for evidence on content harmful to children, aimed at informing codes of practice, supervision, and early enforcement priorities.
Social media use for under-16s, implications of a ban, practicalities & insights from international initiatives
Discussion will consider stakeholder perspectives on the Government’s consultation regarding a ban on social media use for children under-16, including potential implications for digital rights and challenges in enforcement.
Latest thinking on the role of social media platforms in child online safety will be discussed, looking at how the proposed ban might interact with safeguarding measures aiming to protect young people online. Areas for discussion include priorities for enforcement across platforms and jurisdictions, assessing proportionality, displacement of risk to unregulated spaces, and protections for vulnerable young people who rely on online communities for support.
Delegates will examine international approaches to social media use for children and young people, considering the early impact of social media restrictions in Australia. Delegates will explore the impact of restrictions on children’s online behaviour, including reductions in exposure to harmful content and increased use of less regulated online spaces.
Sessions will consider areas such as age assurance and verification models, thresholds for enforcement, compliance monitoring, and regulatory powers over emerging technologies such as AI chatbots and infinite-scroll features. This includes how restrictions intersect with digital literacy, resilience programmes, and parental guidance, ensuring children can access age-appropriate educational opportunities while being protected from harm. Delegates will also assess potential options to age-restrict or limit children’s use of VPNs and proxy services to prevent misuse and the undermining of safety protections on social media platforms.
Strategies for supporting parents to navigate children’s use of social media will be discussed - following the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launching its new You Won’t Know until You Ask campaign - examining next steps for building critical thinking skills, improving parental confidence, and encouraging parents to speak more openly about internet harms and usage.
Mobile phone use regulation & support for schools
Delegates will explore next steps for regulating mobile phone use in schools, as outlined in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and updated DfE guidance. Discussion will assess the potential impact of restrictions on student wellbeing and educational attainment, as well as support for schools in implementing proposed regulation effectively.
The role of Ofsted in supporting schools to regulate mobile phone use and enforce policies consistently through its updated inspection framework will be considered. Delegates will look at how schools can develop clear guidelines for teachers to manage phone use and support digital literacy education across the curriculum.
Online Safety Act implementation, children’s rights & platform responsibilities
Progress on implementing the Online Safety Act will be assessed, looking at its role in developing safer online spaces for children and improving accountability of social media platforms, with discussion on responsibilities of tech companies in preventing harmful content, and next steps for strengthening the protection of children’s digital rights.
Discussion will consider priorities for effective age assurance, platform compliance, and alignment with existing guidance, such as the Department for Education’s Keeping Children Safe in Education.
Attendees will also assess early responses to Ofcom’s call for evidence on content harmful to children ahead of its report due to be published in October 2026, considering the future for platform accountability and how emerging digital risks can be better regulated.
Operational considerations for regulators will be addressed, including capacity constraints, duplication of responsibilities across safeguarding partnerships, and ensuring consistent delivery across jurisdictions. Delegates will examine the role of technology in safeguarding, including AI moderation, content filtering, detection of harmful content, and options for ensuring platforms cannot evade responsibility for features that pose risks to children - particularly with AI chatbots to be included in updates to the Act.
Child Protection Authority proposals & coordination of safeguarding
Delegates will consider implications for safeguarding children’s online safety emerging from the DfE’s consultation on Establishing the Child Protection Authority in England. Areas for discussion include what effective national oversight should look like in practice, including powers, accountability, and how the authority can work with inspectorates, local safeguarding partners and frontline services to better support identification of trends in harmful content online and inform policy development.
Further sessions examine priorities for developing governance, and reporting and resourcing practice, including mechanisms for multi-agency intelligence sharing, data-driven policy, and evidence-informed interventions. Approaches for oversight bodies in supporting consistent delivery across schools, local authorities, and the wider sector will be discussed.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; Department for Education; Department for Education, NI; Department of Health and Social Care; HM Revenue and Customs; HM Treasury; Government Legal Department; Ofcom; Information Commissioner’s Office; Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Home Office; and the Welsh Government.
