Mobile phones for children in care
For many children in care, a phone is how they keep in touch with family and ask for help. It also brings sharper risks for children who’ve already been harmed. This guide covers the decisions foster carers and children’s home staff face, from whether a child should have a mobile phone to when to restrict it.
In this guide
Should a child in care have a phone?
Start from yes. Most children have a phone by secondary school, and children in care should have what their friends have.
Decide on age, understanding and risk, not a blanket rule. Give a younger child the same kind of phone their friends have, with tighter settings. A child at risk of exploitation might need stronger protections, not no phone.
Make it a planned decision at the start of a placement, not a reaction later.
Who decides
The placement plan should record whether the child has a phone and the rules agreed.
The child should be asked for their views, and have decisions explained in a way they understand.
Foster care
Your placement plan should say which day-to-day decisions you can make (delegated authority). If phones aren’t covered, ask the child’s social worker to add them.
Children’s homes
Your Statement of Purpose must set out how you monitor children, and Regulation 24 sets the rules.
Setting the phone up
There are three levels of protection. Whichever you use, tell the child what’s switched on and why.
Network filters. Secure mobile networks like Voop block 18+ content by default. Standard UK networks block it on a new SIM too, but the block comes off once the account holder proves they’re over 18, and it doesn’t cover Wi-Fi.
Parental control apps such as Google Family Link or Qustodio. They’re cheap and work well for families, but a determined child can often get round them, and they’re built for one or two parents, not carers on shifts. See how Voop compares with Qustodio.
Care-specific phones. Protections are built into the phone and its connection, settings are shared by the whole care team, and every change is logged. They cost more than an app.
Voop sets all of this up for you
Every Voop phone comes with filtering and blocking already set up, on wifi and mobile data. A child can’t switch it off, and every carer shares the same settings.
Agree the rules together
A short written phone agreement, signed by the child and their carer, prevents most arguments. Use our free agreement template to cover:
where the phone charges at night
school, meals and homework
who they give their number to
not posting photos that show the home, its address or other children
what happens if the agreement isn’t kept
Review it at each placement review. Our online safety guide covers apps and social media in more depth.
Give more freedom as they grow
Many children’s homes and fostering services give phone access in stages. A child starts with tighter settings and gets more freedom as they get older and show they can manage it. The aim is a 16-year-old who can keep themselves safe online, because that’s when many move into supported accommodation, with much less supervision.
Change the settings, not the phone. A basic phone, or one that’s obviously a “safe” phone, marks a child out from their friends, and children in care often feel different enough already. Give them the same kind of phone their friends have, and loosen the settings over time.
For example:
Starting out: calls and messages with agreed contacts, a few approved apps, and the phone charging outside the bedroom at night.
Building up: more apps and contacts, more time on the phone, and social media once it’s agreed with the child’s social worker.
Nearly independent: most settings eased, with the young person managing their own apps, contacts and screen time.
Ready to move on: by 16, they can manage their accounts, spot scams and protect their privacy with little help.
Move at the child’s pace, not just their age. If risks rise, go back a stage for a while rather than taking the phone away, and explain why. Agree each step with the child, and record it in their placement plan, and later their pathway plan.
With Voop, the care team can change a child’s settings as they grow, on the same phone.
Calls and messages from family
For many children, keeping in touch with family is the most important thing their phone does.
Sometimes calls don’t help: they’re distressing, or they break agreed contact arrangements. Don’t block a family member’s number on your own. Talk to the child’s social worker, check any court orders, and record what’s decided.
Once it’s agreed, Voop’s communication controls set who a child can call and text, the same on every shift.
Costs and looking after the phone
Agree these at the start of the placement:
Who pays. The fostering allowance, the service’s budget or the child’s pocket money. Check your service’s policy.
Bills. A capped plan avoids surprise charges.
Lost or broken phones. Agree what happens if it’s lost, broken, sold or swapped.
Moving placement. Decide whether the phone and number go with the child. Keeping the number helps them stay in touch.
Risks to talk about
Talk regularly, not once. Make sure the child knows they won’t be in trouble for telling you something went wrong.
Grooming and exploitation. Watch for new contacts offering gifts, money, lifts or a second phone. If you’re worried, tell the child’s social worker straight away. Our online safety guide lists other warning signs.
Nudes. Creating or sharing a nude image of anyone under 18 is illegal, even of yourself. Reassure the child that police rarely criminalise young people for this, and that Childline’s Report Remove tool can get images taken down.
Bullying. Agree that they’ll show you or another adult they trust.
Location. Turn off location tagging on posts, and never share the home’s location or details about other children.
Scams and costs. Watch for premium-rate texts, in-app purchases and “free” offers.
Restricting or removing a phone
Start with a conversation and a change of settings. Confiscating a phone should be a last resort: it cuts a child off from family, friends and help, and can push them to find a phone you don’t know about. If you do restrict or remove one:
keep it proportionate, and as short as possible
agree it with the child’s social worker and your manager
record the reason and explain it to the child
give the phone back as soon as it’s safe
make sure the child knows how to complain or get an advocate
If a child goes missing, their phone is often the quickest way to reach them. Agree in the plan how you’ll contact them, and what location sharing is allowed in an emergency.
Act fast with Missing from care
With one tap, Voop turns on the child’s location, alerts everyone on your team, and lets the child know you want them to get in touch. Location sharing is temporary, and the child can see when it’s on.
Sources
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Questions carers ask
Are children in foster care allowed a phone?
Usually, yes. Most children in foster care have a phone, like their friends do. Whether they have one, and the rules that go with it, should be agreed with the child and their social worker and written into their placement plan. A phone should only be held back or restricted for a clear safety reason, and that decision should be recorded and reviewed.
At what age can a foster child have a phone?
There’s no fixed age. Most children have one by secondary school. Decide on the child’s age, understanding and risks, and record the decision in the placement plan.
Should a younger child in care have a basic phone?
Usually not. A basic phone, or one that’s obviously a “safe” phone, can mark a child out from their friends. Give them the same kind of phone their friends have with tighter settings, and loosen the settings as they grow.
Can I take a child’s phone at night?
Yes, if it’s part of the agreed rules. Charging phones outside bedrooms is a common, reasonable rule. Avoid using it as a punishment.
Can foster carers take away a child’s phone?
Only as a last resort, and not as a punishment. Taking a phone cuts a child off from family, friends and help. If a phone has to be restricted or removed for safety, agree it with the child’s social worker, record the reason, explain it to the child and give it back as soon as it’s safe. The child can complain or ask for an advocate if they think it’s unfair.
Can I read a child’s messages?
Generally, no. Children in care have a right to privacy. In children’s homes, any monitoring must meet Regulation 24. If you have a safeguarding concern, talk to the child’s social worker.
Can I block a parent’s number?
Not on your own. Check the contact arrangements and any court orders with the child’s social worker first, and record the decision.
Who pays for a child’s phone?
It depends on your fostering service or provider’s policy. Agree it at the start of the placement.
How Voop helps
Voop is therapeutic digital safeguarding for looked-after children. It runs on each child’s Android phone.
Can’t be switched off. Protections are built into the phone and its connection.
The same rules on every shift. Settings are agreed with the child and shared by every carer.
Open with the child. The child app shows them what’s switched on, and Voop never reads messages or records calls.
Every change logged. Each one is recorded with a reason.
Missing from care. One tap turns on temporary location sharing and alerts your team.
