Darlington’s MP Lola McEvoy has launched her first campaign since being elected following worrying concerns from parents across town regarding their children’s safety online and on social media.

Headteachers from around Darlington representing every secondary school and college in the constituency on Friday (September 13) meet with Ms McEvoy to discuss her new Online Safety Forum.

This follows a pledge made by the government to improve online safety laws as well as by Ms McEvoy herself during her election campaign in July where she told The Northern Echo that mental health is at a “crisis point” for young people.

In the coming months, Ms McEvoy is set to hold further meetings to get a real-world understanding of children’s experiences online and how these shape and affect their lives.

Among the aims will be to teach the best use of mobile phones in classrooms, policies on online bullying and the consequences of their actions on social media.

Lola added: “The vision has come from the people of Darlington – during my campaign I knocked on thousands of doors and the situation facing young people was one of those concerns.

“I want to tackle the situation facing the mental health of young people. One of the things that is causing this additional pressure is the online safety and online bullying of children.

“Both parents and grandparents said they felt really out of touch because of what is happening with their children online.

“This is our first step on the journey to create the Online Safety Forum – but the idea is that I want children and young people to shape it.”

She added: “I’m committed to doing my bit to allow Darlington’s children to shape this – I want to hear from them about what they are facing.”

During the meeting, Ms McEvoy heard from headteachers regarding students’ use of the internet both inside and outside school – and found that many incidents online are already taking place before teachers find out.

Other concerns included the “permanence” of social media and the fear that young people may be ridiculed by their peers regarding photos and videos posted online.

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One of the leaders present at the meeting, Adrian Lynch, Principal at Beaumont Hill Academy, said: We are excited to work alongside Lola to empower young people in Darlington to speak out and participate in discussions around online safety.”

Kate Read, principal at Polam Hall School, added: "Staying safe online is one of the most complex challenges faced by young people today. This project has the potential to support them in navigating these complexities. 

"Most importantly, the forum will be led by a team of young people from across Darlington, so that their voices are heard and their very real experiences can shape a code of conduct for all of the young people in our town."