PCVS bring Online Safety for Young People to the fore

On Thursday 5 March, PCVS led on a Conference with a focus on Online Safety and
Young People. This very important issue brought together around 100 people from a
wide range of organisations to hear speakers present on some challenging
perspectives including, young people’s voices about how safe they felt online.
The conference was opened with an original film created by media and journalism
students from Peterborough College. This was followed by the keynote speaker
Rowan Ferguson the Safeguarding lead at the Molly Rose Foundation (MRF), who
shared Molly’s story and the work they are doing to combat suicide which can be a
contributory, or even a direct result of, being exposed to harmful content online.
Kerry Cliffe, Safeguarding Lead at Jack Hunt School, talked about the negative
aspects of Smartphones, Dan Pawson from Cambridgeshire Constabulary on COM
Networks, Paige Moore Watson & Rachel Hallwood from Centre 33 giving a mental
health perspective and Peterborough’s MP, Andrew Pakes outlining the Online
Safety Bill and the challenges of implementing it. Leader of the Council, Shabina
Qayyum and Michelle Dalliston, Vicar of Peterborough also spoke about the role of
faith to protect young people.
After lunch, Paul Bristow, Combined Authority Mayor, joined the speakers for a Q&A
enabling delegates to ask their own questions. This lively discussion highlighted the
real need to keep this issue high on the agenda and to prioritise the safety of our
young. There is a clear challenge to keep up with the constantly changing
machinery driving harmful content. On the same evening of the conference,
Channel 4 aired a documentary led by the MRF, ‘Molly versus the Machine’ which
people were encouraged to watch.
Cheryl McGuire, Digital Inclusion Lead for PCVS said that feedback from the
Conference has been incredibly positive, demonstrating that there is an appetite for
more understanding and awareness of online harm. Because we are all trying to
keep up and that we all have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our young and to
protect the next generation.
Should you wish to have more information about the work of PCVS, please contact
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