8.45

Arrival, refreshments and exhibitor viewing

9.30

Welcome and introduction 

CHAIR Ravi Chandiramani, Publisher, Children & Young People Now

9.35

Our collective responsibility in driving change around online safety issues in a rapidly evolving, global environment

Society as we know it today has undergone considerable change in comparism to the last decade and the decade before. Today, technology plays a vital role in our lives. Technology some might say, holds our lives together, from our business, social and political lives, technology plays a key role in every aspect. This dependency is not exclusive to adults alone. However, we are also all too aware of the dangers and risks that this increased use of technology has on our lives, from exposure to harmful content, to age inappropriate contents, especially for younger users. Governments across the world and companies are also fiercely debating the pros and cons of the internet, discussing regulation, content restriction and attempting to understand what constitutes as harmful.

In the meantime, regardless of the complexity, uncertainty and fiercely debated nature of the social, cultural, political, technological and legal challenges we face when it comes to the challenges the internet brings – young lives remain an inextricable part of that landscape. It is the young lives, who are caught up in this period of transition that we all must collectively work to safeguard and protect.

SPEAKER Tessy Ojo, Chief Executive, The Diana Award

10.10

Digital safety in 2020…and beyond

• A look at the kind of online world we have now, and what kind of future we would like to see
• A guide to current social media platforms, chat facilities, live streaming and apps
• Understanding how children and young people’s online behaviour is evolving and how professionals can keep up

SPEAKER Jonathan Taylor, Online Safety Consultant, Be Safe Online

10.50

Refreshments and exhibitor viewing

11.10

Young people’s mental health: building digital resilience and good self-care

• Understanding digital resilience and how to flourish in the digital age
• How to support children and young people to think critically about their digital lives

SPEAKER Dr Richard Graham, Nightingale Hospital, Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust

12.00

Practice Seminar 1 (choose 1A, 1B or 1C)

1A Online Safety for the Early Years

• Understanding supervision, guidance and monitoring tools
• Allowing children to take age-appropriate risks online so they can learn how to navigate the digital world safely

SPEAKER TBC

1B Responding to incidents of sexting and safeguarding young people

• How professionals should manage incidents to safeguard children and young people, exploring the current national guidance.

SPEAKER Charlotte Aynsley, Director, E-safety Training and Consultancy

1C Enabling vulnerable young people to be safe online

• The latest research on the digital experiences of vulnerable young people such as those in care, young carers, those in alternative provision or not in school
• Factors that lie behind their actions and practical ideas on how to respond
• How services handle cases with a digital component

SPEAKER Adrienne Katz, Director, Youthworks

13.00

Lunch and exhibitor viewing 

14.00 

Practice Seminar 2 (choose 2A, 2B or 2C) 

2A Teaching online safety

• Embedding digital skills across the setting and moving away from a siloed approach to teaching online safety
• Using a pupil-centred whole-school approach
• What do we mean by ‘positive impact’ and how can we encourage critical thinking?

SPEAKER Alan Mackenzie, E-Safety Consultant

2B Online Grooming - Why are some children more susceptible to CSE, radicalisation and extremism and what prevents them from speaking out?

• Wealth, status, popularity, education… are any of these akin to a vaccination against being groomed online?
• Are live streaming platforms fuelling a rise in CSE and radicalisation?
• How to have honest, open and frank conversations about online risk that are relevant and engaging for our learners

SPEAKERS Traci Good, Online Safety Consultant, plus young people from the Digital Leaders programme

2C Gambling and gaming: how to protect young people

SPEAKER Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, Director, National Centre for Behavioural Addictions, UK

15.00

Lunch, networking and exhibitor viewing 

15.20

Practice Seminar 3 (choose 3A, 3B or 3C)

3A Safeguarding young people, and supporting professionals and carers working with vulnerable children and young people

• The skills and development opportunities needed for good digital practice and effective support for practitioners
• A toolkit that can be used by parents and professionals for holistic safeguarding of children and young people online and offline
• The ‘10 Cs’ framework - a systematic evidence-based approach to safeguard children and young people as well as the professionals working with them

SPEAKERS Claudia Megele, Principal social worker at Hertfordshire County Council, and national chair of the Principal Children and Families Social Worker (PCFSW) Network & Dr Peter Buzzi, research and project lead, PCFSW. 

3B Working with parents and carers

• Supporting children and parents to take a collaborative approach to online safety
• Finding the right balance between implementing online safeguards and promoting positive use of digital technology
• Engaging parents at critical times and key transition periods

SPEAKER TBC, Parentzone

3C Safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities

• Helping children with SEND to become independent learners, develop critical thinking and seek support
• Making the most of technology and online platforms while ensuring filtering and monitoring does not create barriers to digital education

SPEAKER TBC

16.20 

Sum up and close of conference