Navigating the Social Media Landscape
Designed to help educators manage the complexities of social media and student wellbeing, navigate the shifting UK regulatory landscape on online safety, and give school staff practical frameworks they can implement immediately.
Session co-facilitated by the LGfL Safeguarding Service
Introducing the Social Media Landscape
As social media increasingly shapes the well-being, identity, and relationships of young people, educators are being forced to navigate a fast-changing digital landscape and complex UK policy developments. Schools face mounting pressure to respond to online wellbeing risks and the profound impact of social media on student mental health, yet often lack the clear guidance needed to act effectively.
EdWell’s Navigating the Digital Landscape session provides the solution by cutting through this complexity and turning policy into practical action. This training replaces uncertainty with clarity and confidence, equipping your school with realistic strategies and the EdWell Toolkit, a ready-to-use resource pack designed to provide immediate support for staff, students, and parent engagement
Why this training matters
Schools are legally required to align their policies with DfE statutory guidance on mobile-free environments and KCSIE filtering standards. Staff need clear, actionable training to enforce mobile phone bans consistently, manage parental resistance, and equip students with digital resilience ahead of national social media age restrictions.
Test your knowledge
What is the primary objective of the "Navigating the Digital Landscape" session for educators?
What specific "online wellbeing risk" does the training help staff recognise and respond to?
Who are the intended beneficiaries of this training and its resources?
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Understanding the Social Media Landscape
The core concepts of the Navigating the Digital Landscape session focus on the intersection of digital life, mental health, and educational responsibility.
Digital Influence on Youth Development - Well-being, identity, and relationships are the three primary areas of a young person's life shaped by social media. Rather than viewing social media as a neutral tool, the sessions will highlight its "powerful role" in defining how children see themselves and interact with others
Policy-to-Action Integration - A central concept is translating complex UK policy developments (specifically regarding under-16 access) into practical action. The training aims to bridge the gap between high-level online safety regulations and what schools can realistically do, moving beyond theoretical understanding to gain clarity and confidence in applying current guidance and emerging policies
Online Wellbeing Risks - the specific impact of social media on student mental health and behaviour. The training defines these risks not just as technical safety issues, but as emotional ones. Educators are tasked with learning how to recognise and respond to these risks effectively within the school environment
Holistic Stakeholder Engagement - online safety is not the sole responsibility of a single group. The EdWell Toolkit is designed for staff, students, and parent engagement and ensures that the strategies for supporting student wellbeing are consistent across the classroom and the home, providing support for the entire school community
Realistic School Intervention - By grounding the training in emotional and online safety regulations, the core concept is to provide educators with practical strategies they can use immediately to manage the fast-changing digital landscape
Relevant Policy Frameworks & Official Reports
Department for Education (DfE) — Statutory Mobile Phone Guidance
Mobile-Free by Default: Under DfE guidance (updated early 2026 and made statutory under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act), all primary and secondary schools in England are required to operate as mobile phone-free environments by default throughout the entire school day—including breaktimes and lunchtimes.
Staff & Policy Expectations: The guidance requires schools to update their Behaviour and Acceptable Use Policies, implement clear searching and confiscation protocols, and ensure staff model appropriate digital behaviour.
Government Policy — Under-16 Social Media Ban
Platform Restrictions: The UK Government introduced plans (Growing up in the online world) prohibiting social media companies from offering services to children under 16, alongside restrictions on high-risk features like live-streaming and stranger interactions on gaming platforms.
School Responsibilities: As these restrictions roll out, schools serve as the front line for educating pupils, setting boundaries, and helping families navigate the transition toward reduced digital dependency.
Ofsted Inspection Focus
Inspection Criteria: Ofsted inspectors evaluate how effectively school leaders implement and enforce their mobile phone policies.
Safeguarding & Behaviour: Failure to address phone-related disruption, cyberbullying, or weak online filtering can lead to negative inspection findings under "Behaviour and Attitudes" and "Personal Development".
Ofsted Inspection Focus
Inspection Criteria: Ofsted inspectors evaluate how effectively school leaders implement and enforce their mobile phone policies.
Safeguarding & Behaviour: Failure to address phone-related disruption, cyberbullying, or weak online filtering can lead to negative inspection findings under "Behaviour and Attitudes" and "Personal Development".
LGfL & KCSIE Compliance
Filtering & Monitoring: Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) requires that designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) and teaching staff understand technical filtering, report management, and how to respond to online harm disclosures.
RSHE Guidance
RSHE guidance: pupils are taught about online safety and harms, including the implications of sharing personal data online and the risks associated with over-reliance on social media.
The department updated its RSHE guidance in July 2025, including new content on artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and how social media can escalate conflicts. Pupils should be taught the similarities and differences between the online world and the physical world, including the impact of unhealthy or obsessive comparison with others online, including through setting unrealistic expectations for body image, as well as how information is targeted at them.
Schools have the flexibility to tailor their curriculum to local needs
Safe Skills resource
Safe resources
Social Media Ban for Under 16s & Schools blog post
Resources to support from LGfL
Safe Filtering Resources
DSL training, video guides, key documents and free templates
Monitoring Provisions
Meet DfE obligations around appropriate monitoring
Safe Filtering Resources
DSL training, video guides, key documents and free templates
Monitoring Provisions
Meet DfE obligations around appropriate monitoring
