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Technology, choice and safeguarding: supporting children’s digital lives in education and at home
Technology, choice and safeguarding: supporting children’s digital lives in education and at home
When
Thursday, 10 September 1:00pm - 3:30pmWhere
techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4ADPrice
FreeBringing together policy, practice, and evidence to examine children’s digital lives
As schools navigate growing expectations around safeguarding, digital equity, screen time, AI, and online safety, understanding how these agendas intersect has never been more important. Delivered in partnership between BESA and techUK, this event brings together policymakers, researchers, school leaders, and industry representatives to explore the opportunities and tensions shaping technology use in education today. Through expert panel discussions and open debate, attendees will examine how schools can balance safeguarding responsibilities with the educational benefits of technology, while fostering productive relationships with parents and families. The session aims to support a shared, evidence-led understanding of technology’s place in education.
What you’ll leave with:
We want attendees to leave with a clearer understanding of the policy landscape, practical insight from schools, and greater confidence in engaging with the debates shaping technology in education.
Policy perspective: A clearer understanding of how safeguarding, screen time, digital equity, and AI policies interact and where tensions exist.
School insight: Practical examples of how schools are responding to evolving digital challenges while maintaining an evidence-led approach.
Parent engagement: A broader understanding of how technology policies affect families and how schools can foster shared understanding with parents.
Sector understanding: Insight into the opportunities and challenges facing education as expectations around digital accountability continue to evolve.
Who is the webinar for:
This event is designed for professionals working across education, policy, safeguarding, research, and technology who want to better understand the evolving landscape of children’s digital lives.
- School and trust leaders responsible for digital strategy, safeguarding, or technology adoption
- Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) and pastoral teams
- Policymakers and officials working across education, technology, and online safety
- Researchers specialising in child safety, digital wellbeing, screen time, or AI in education
- Parent and family organisations with an interest in children’s digital experiences
- EdTech suppliers, technology providers, and industry representatives working with schools
If you want more clarity before taking your next step into navigating the changing landscape of safeguarding, digital policy, and technology in education, this event is for you.
techUK
techUK is the trade association which brings together people, companies and organisations to realise the positive outcomes of what digital technology can achieve. We create a network for innovation and collaboration across business, government and stakeholders to provide a better future for people, society, the economy and the planet.
Agenda
1:00pm
Arrival and refreshments
1:10pm
Welcome and scene-setting
1:40pm
Panel one: safeguarding, learning and digital equity, how the policy currently overlaps
A frank look at how these strands collide as much as they align. Government is backing AI tutors for disadvantaged pupils while consulting on screen time limits, publishing AI product standards while still working out how to assess whether tutoring tools actually work, and encouraging digitally mature schools while public concern about the products themselves keeps building. This panel asks what these tensions mean in practice, and whether the policy landscape is currently pulling schools in one direction or several at once.
2:25pm
Break
2:30pm
Panel two: policy meets practice, how schools are actually responding
How schools navigate these strands without retreating from evidence that technology, used well, delivers good outcomes, and without letting the loudest concerns crowd out the quieter case for what works. This panel also turns to parents, since some of these policies are landing as bans and restrictions handed down to families, and risk driving a wedge between schools and parents rather than building the shared understanding that better outcomes depend on.
3:15pm
Closing remarks and networking
Speakers
Katie Freeman-Tayler, Policy & Research Director, Internet Matters
Katie Freeman-Tayler is Policy & Research Director at Internet Matters, a not-for-profit dedicated to support parents and professionals to keep children safe and well online. She leads the organisation’s research and policy programme, ensuring the experiences of parents, carers, children and young people shape the decisions of those with influence over children’s digital lives.
Dr Anna Lindroos Cermakova, Researcher, DOHE & European Edtech Alliance
Dr Anna Lindroos Cermakova is a researcher and policy adviser working across education, evidence and digital governance. She advises the Council of Europe on AI in education and digital citizenship in education, where she served as General Rapporteur for the 2nd European Forum on Digital Citizenship Education, feeding into the Council’s DCE Road Map. She is a researcher at DOHE EdTech Accelerator and works with the European EdTech Alliance, the Helsinki Education Hub and the UK EdTech Evidence Board on building EdTech evidence infrastructure for schools across Europe. She is also Head of Research at EdTech Impact.
Andrew Mellor, Co-Founder & CEO, LOQT
Andrew Mellor is Co-Founder and CEO of LOQT, which he founded in 2019 with a mission to help young people build healthier digital habits and reclaim time offline. Operating entirely through software, LOQT works with schools to schedule phone-free time during the school day and enables parents to extend that structure at home, supporting children in a consistent environment.
To ask any questions, please email eventsteam@besa.org.uk.
Will it be recorded?
Yes, the webinar will be recorded. If you register, you’ll receive a link to the recording once it is processed, so you can watch it at your convenience.
Will the slides be shared afterwards?
Yes, the slides will be shared after the webinar. Registered attendees will receive a copy via email following the session.
What software is the webinar hosted on?
The webinar will be hosted on Zoom. Once you register, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link and joining instructions.
Can I ask questions during the webinar?
Yes! Attendees can ask questions via the chat or Q&A function. If you prefer, you can also submit questions anonymously through the Q&A feature.
