A SCHOOL in York is hosting a special panel discussion tomorrow around online safety of social media.

As part of York’s Festival of Ideas, The Mount School is hosting “Tomorrow’s Leaders: Social Media & Today’s Teenagers” from 9.30am until 10.30am, with Tammy Banks, the CEO of re:shape, a sexual harm awareness and prevention charity, Anthropologist, Rose Drew, Susan Kane, Assistant Director of HR at the University of York, author Kim McCabe, Jay Owens, Director of Pulsar and the NSPCC’s Head of Safeguarding in Communities, Helen Westerman.

The panel will be speaking about the positives of our children’s online world, and how we can help ensure our children and young people make the most of their digital experience.

Mrs Westerman will also be outlining the NSPCC’s partnership with O2 which has seen the setting up of an online safety free advice line for parents, and also involves online safety parent workshops in schools, workplaces and communities and through our Net Aware site, which gathers parents and young people’s views on the most popular social networks and games, guidance on safety features and practical tips.

The panel discussion will also explore issues such as online bullying and grooming, and the effect social media can have on children’s mental health, helping children and young people understand their digital footprints and as per the NSPCC’s Wild West Web campaign, the urgent need for tough legislation to force the tech industry to keep our children safe online including powers to punish social media companies when they fail to do so.

Mrs Westerman said: “I am looking forward to a really healthy and robust debate about our children’s online lives. Wrapping children up in cotton wool isn’t the answer. Children need to learn how to navigate the online world just as they need to learn how to cross the road safely. But just as we have measures like speed limits and pedestrian crossings, we also need people designing the online world to build child safety into that environment.”

Proceeds from the discussion will be going to the NSPCC, helping the children’s charity be there for even more children, whether it be through Childline, the schools service or through the York service centre who run a number of therapeutic services for children and their families struggling with abuse and neglect.

Principal Adrienne Richmond said: “The Mount School York is delighted to celebrate the York Festival of Ideas and support the NSPCC at this Sunday's panel discussion. Today's teenagers are simultaneously liberated and hamstrung by social media's impact on their lives; their digital footprint will influence how prospective employers view them as a potential candidate. We are looking forward to a robust and thought-provoking discussion which will be of benefit to any adult with a teenager in their life.”

Tickets are still available for a “Coffee & Croissants” fundraiser at The Mount School in York in aid of the NSPCC, ahead of a free panel discussion on our children and young people’s online world.