Beyond the Screen: Schools’ Digital Safety and Mobile Use Summit

Mobile phones are everywhere and so are the risks. From viral TikTok challenges to encrypted group chats, anonymous apps to rising concerns around incel culture, extremism and digital misogyny, schools are facing a rapidly evolving safeguarding landscape. The pressure to act decisively, and wisely, has never been greater.

In the wake of the hit TV series Adolescence, public scrutiny has intensified around how schools respond to the complex online world their pupils inhabit. Young people are connected 24/7, but who is helping them navigate the noise, pressures and dangers of digital life?

Beyond the Screen is a one-day national summit created to address these urgent challenges head-on. Delivered in association with The Bridge and Schools Week, the event brings together school leaders, safeguarding professionals, digital experts and policy thinkers to unpack what really works when it comes to managing mobile phone use, tackling online harms, and fostering a digital culture that prioritises wellbeing and safety.

Taking place at the start of the new term, this timely event is designed to equip you with fresh insights, clear strategies and practical solutions to help you lead with confidence in an increasingly digital world.

Whether you’re rethinking your mobile phone policy, grappling with toxic online influences, or seeking clarity in a fast-moving space, this summit offers honest, expert guidance from those at the forefront of digital safeguarding.

What to expect:

• Thought-provoking keynotes from national leaders and sector experts
• In-depth sessions on mobile phone policy, digital behaviour, and emerging risks
• Analysis of online subcultures including incel networks and harmful ideologies from DfE’s Prevent Lead
• Real-world case studies from schools leading innovative change
• Practical strategies for engaging parents, pupils and staff in building safer digital norms
• Space to connect, network and collaborate with fellow school leaders and safeguarding professionals.

Who should attend?

This summit is essential for those leading, shaping or delivering digital safety and behaviour strategies in schools and trusts, including:

• Headteachers and principals
• Senior leaders (DSLs, DDSLs, Deputies and Assistant Heads)
• Designated safeguarding leads and pastoral leaders
• Governance professionals
• Behaviour and attendance leads
• IT and/or EdTech leads
• PSHE and RSE coordinators
• Inclusion, SEND and wellbeing practitioners
• Policy advisors and local authority professionals.

Whether you’re setting policy at trust level or delivering safeguarding on the ground, Beyond the Screen will equip you with the tools, insights and connections to strengthen your approach to mobile phone use and digital safety.

Join us as we look beyond the screen – towards a safer, more supportive digital future for all our learners.