Darlington MP Lola McEvoy writes exclusively for The Northern Echo.

As a parent, there’s nothing more important than the safety of your children. Yet with the constant presence of mobile phones and social media, being certain of that is harder than ever - and I know many out there are feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.

I was taken aback at how often this subject came up as I knocked on doors across Darlington this summer. At one house, I was chatting to a mum when her young daughter came to the door. The little girl told me she often gets messages from people she doesn’t know when playing games online. She couldn’t have been older than 13.

Another time, a grandfather joked that his nine-year-old daughter “sorts the telly” for him, but in the same breath expressed concern that he simply doesn’t know what other technology she’s accessing or how to protect her from harm.

This is, of course, not only an issue in Darlington. According to online regulator Ofcom, around 70 per cent of parents are worried about their children being bullied online. And most simply aren’t able to constantly monitor what unpredictable algorithms are presenting to them or who they are in contact with via private messages.

So it’s clear that families in our town and beyond feel increasingly out of control and in need of support. Likewise, child mental health services, already stretched beyond their means, are finding more and more children in need of support.

In short, something needs to be done, and fast.

Labour highlighted this as a major issue in its manifesto and has started work quickly to address it. That includes investing in law enforcement to stop online predators early, building on the Online Safety Act to properly hold social media companies to account, working with Ofcom and safety campaigners to ensure our laws are keeping up with the constantly-changing online world and, crucially, rebuilding our NHS so children aren’t left stuck on waiting lists when they suffer mental health emergencies.

For my part, I want to oversee action locally to ensure all children in Darlington feel safe. While national Government can help set the framework and hold social media companies’ feet to the fire, our teachers are the ones with a unique overview of how these issues are affecting young people in our town.

That’s why last week I met with leaders representing every secondary school and colleges in Darlington. Our aim was to see how we can collaborate on this issue, with the goal of making Darlington a model of best practice on child safety.

Not only was our meeting hugely productive but it was also immediately clear how much this cooperation has been needed. We all have the same objective, so why wouldn’t we work together?

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It’s also critical that the views of children themselves are taken into account when we make decisions that affect their day-to-day wellbeing. That’s why I will be inviting children from schools across Darlington to meet me and share their experiences over the coming months.

Our young people are so intelligent and insightful on these issues, and I want their input not only on local approaches to these challenges in Darlington, but on policies drawn up nationally by ministers.

During my election campaign, I promised to ensure the voices of people in our town were heard here and in Westminster. That counts just as much for our children as anyone else.