Online safety for children in care
Online safety for children in care starts with their phone: a link to family and friends, and a way back in for people who mean them harm. This guide shows foster carers and children’s home staff what to agree with each child, what to watch for, and what to do if something goes wrong.
In this guide
Why it’s different for children in care
Internet Matters research puts children in care among those more at risk online. Here’s why:
Their phone is a lifeline. Taking it away rarely makes them safer.
Some contact isn’t safe. A phone can get round a care plan or court order in seconds.
Exploitation often starts online. Grooming, including for county lines, often begins with messages or gifts.
Many adults are involved. Children notice when carers, shifts and social workers set different rules.
Trust may already be broken. Bans and secret monitoring push phone use out of sight.
Start with an agreement, not a ban
Rules work best when the child helps make them. Agree these together, with their social worker where you can:
When they use their phone, and where it charges at night
Who they can and can’t contact, and why
Which apps, games and social media they use
What they share, and what they can spend
Who they’ll tell if something worries them
What you’ll check, and how you’ll explain changes
What happens if it’s broken, and when you’ll review it
Our free template covers all of this. The UKCIS Digital Passport helps children talk about their online lives too.
Who decides what
It varies by child. Check the care plan, the placement plan and what’s been delegated to you. If it isn’t clear, ask the child’s social worker. Record what you agree and revisit it at each review.
Practical protections that help
The protections that help most are ones the child knows about:
Age-appropriate filtering for websites, apps and content
Contact controls where the care plan restricts contact
Location sharing agreed with the child, never behind their back
A bedtime routine, so sleep isn’t a nightly argument
Settings the child can see, so they know what’s on and why
Most parental control apps are built for families, and a factory reset or VPN gets round them. See parental controls for children in care.
Signs something might be wrong
No single sign proves anything. If you see several, tell the child’s social worker:
A new phone, SIM, money or gifts you can’t explain
New, older friends they won’t talk about
Secretive use, or a phone that never leaves their hand
Late nights online, or anxiety after messages
Going missing, or coming back late
Changes in mood, sleep, school or friendships
If something goes wrong
If a child tells you something, or you find something worrying:
Make sure they’re safe. If they’re in immediate danger, call 999.
Stay calm and listen. Children who aren’t punished for telling you will tell you again.
Keep the evidence. Don’t delete messages or accounts. Note what you saw and when.
Never view, copy or forward sexual images of a child, even to report them. It’s illegal.
Follow your safeguarding procedure. Tell the child’s social worker and your manager or supervising social worker. If they’re missing, follow your missing-from-care procedure.
Report it. Report grooming or sexual abuse to CEOP. Young people can use Report Remove to get nude images of themselves taken down.
Foster carers
Agree phone rules early, keep your supervising social worker informed, and keep them consistent with other children in the home. Kinship carers face the same risks, sometimes with contact inside the family.
Children’s homes
Consistency matters most. Write the agreement into the child’s plan, share it at handover and apply it the same way on every shift. Record each change and why.
Useful resources
Questions carers ask
Should I check a child’s phone?
It depends on their plan and what you’ve agreed. Many children respond better to protections they can see than to secret checks. Agree what you’ll check and why, and record it.
Can I take a child’s phone away?
Check their placement plan and your service’s policy. Taking a phone can cut a child off from family and friends and often escalates conflict, so keep it as an agreed last resort.
Who decides whether a child in care can use social media?
It depends on their care plan and what’s been delegated to their carers. Check with their social worker, and record the decision.
What should I do if I think a child is being exploited online?
Make sure they’re safe, keep the evidence and follow your safeguarding procedure straight away. Tell their social worker and report grooming or sexual abuse to CEOP. If they’re in immediate danger, call 999.
How Voop helps
Parental controls built for carers. Protections a child can’t remove, agreed with them, applied the same way in every home and on every shift, and without reading their messages.
