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Technology, choice and safeguarding: supporting children's digital lives in education and at home

Name: Technology, choice and safeguarding: supporting children's digital lives in education and at home
Start: 2026-09-10T13:00:00
End: 2026-09-10T15:30:00
Location: techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD

1pm – 3.30pm 10 September 2026 London techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD

Smartphones, social media, AI product standards, screen time and EdTech assessment policies are approaching schools en masse, some already in force, others still to land. Many of these are welcome for schools, but as public concern grows louder, there is a risk the accumulation reads as a verdict against technology in education, rather than a response to specific platforms and harms.

This event brings policymakers, researchers and practitioners together to take stock of that picture and to work through what it means for schools in practice.

Key takeaways

Understand where safeguarding, screen time and digital equity policy are pulling in the same direction, and where they are pulling apart
Hear how schools are responding in practice, without retreating from evidence of what works
Consider the parent-facing side of these policies, and where bans and restrictions risk creating distance between schools and families rather than shared understanding
Contribute to a shared, evidence-led view of technology's place in education

Agenda

13:00 – 13:10	Arrival and refreshments
13:10 – 13:40	Welcome and scene-setting
13:40 – 14:25	Panel one: safeguarding, learning and digital equity, how the policy actually interacts Panel discussion 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.
14:25 – 14:30	Break
14:30 – 15:15	Panel two: policy meets practice, how schools are actually responding Panel discussion 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.
15:15 – 15:30	Closing remarks and networking

Who should attend

School and trust leaders responsible for safeguarding, digital strategy or EdTech procurement
Designated safeguarding leads and pastoral staff
Policymakers and officials working across DfE, DSIT and online safety policy
Researchers working on child safety, screen time or digital wellbeing
Parent and family organisations with an interest in children's digital lives
EdTech suppliers and platform providers working with schools

Why this matters now

This event sits alongside techUK's wider work on the robotics skills pipeline and the digital maturity gap in schools, part of a continued effort to keep technology in education framed by evidence rather than by the headlines of the week.

Get in touch

If you have questions about this event, or would like to discuss the Education and EdTech Programme more broadly, please get in touch through my bio below.

Austin Earl

Senior Programme Manager, Education and EdTech, techUK

Hostile activity against UK research is growing more sophisticated, and sensitive fields such as AI, semiconductors, quantum and telecoms are attracting increasing attention from state and commercial actors. Hosted by techUK in partnership with Jisc and the University of Strathclyde, this all-day summit brings together academia, government and industry to address real-world practice, emerging risks and how the UK can maintain open, trusted and secure research collaboration.

Book now

Education and EdTech Programme activities

techUK’s Education and EdTech programme seeks to address this challenges by bridging the gap between education, the tech industry, and policymakers. We ensure that education institutions can effectively adopt technology that enhances learning, streamlines operations, and supports skills development. Visit the programme page here

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