Secure Wi-Fi for Children's Homes

Secure Wi-Fi with safeguarding built in: a separate, filtered network for each young person, timed access, and a way for staff to restrict one young person's internet without affecting anyone else.

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Most homes run on a single Wi-Fi network with one password. Once a young person has that password, every device they own has the same access, and the only way to restrict one person is to restrict everyone.

Secure Wi-Fi from QLine IT gives each young person their own network, with filtering and time limits set to match their placement plan and risk assessment. Staff have their own network too, kept separate from the young people's.

QLine IT is a UK IT provider that specialises in children's homes, from single homes to groups across England and Scotland, and looks after more than 120 sites. We are a listed filtering and monitoring integrator with the UK Safer Internet Centre, so the Wi-Fi and the safeguarding come from one supplier rather than two.

What secure Wi-Fi gives you

A network for each young person

Each young person has their own Wi-Fi, password and device list, with filtering set for them alone.

Times that fit the week

Internet times for each young person, with different times on school days, weekends and holidays.

One app, one device

Block or allow a single app, such as TikTok or YouTube, for one young person, or set a curfew for one games console.

Hard to get round

Young people cannot use VPN or proxy apps to get round the filtering. At homes built to our full standard, encrypted DNS tricks are blocked as well.

Managers stay in control

Managers add devices, change times and switch one young person's Wi-Fi off in our app, without affecting anyone else.

A separate staff network

Staff have their own access, kept apart from the young people's networks, and it cannot be switched off by mistake.

Changes that don't cut anyone off

A built-in check stops a change that would knock a connected device off the Wi-Fi, and every change is recorded.

Watched and backed up

We are told the moment a home's internet or Wi-Fi drops, and each home's settings are backed up every week.

Keeping young people safe, one at a time

Every young person has a different history and a different placement plan. One may be allowed social media, while another, in the same home, may not. Secure Wi-Fi lets the arrangements follow the young person rather than the building.

Each site needs one piece of hardware, which we supply and configure. After that, settings are managed remotely, and every home in your group can run the same standard.

Secure Wi-Fi supports what Ofsted and the Care Inspectorate look for, and it protects your staff as well as the young people.

Care homes and supported living

Running an adult care home or supported living service? The same managed Wi-Fi, with separate networks for residents, staff and visitors, is on our care home and supported living Wi-Fi page.

Questions to ask any children's home Wi-Fi supplier

Plenty of firms sell "care home Wi-Fi", but most of it is built for adult care and has no safeguarding features. These are the questions worth asking any supplier, with our answers.

Is the filtering on the UK Safer Internet Centre list? Yes. QLine IT is a listed filtering and monitoring integrator, self-certified against UKSIC's Appropriate Filtering and Monitoring criteria, and our responses are published on the UKSIC website.
Does it block the IWF and Home Office lists? Yes. Blocking follows the Internet Watch Foundation list and the Home Office Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit list.
Can each young person have their own settings and times? Yes. Each young person has their own network, filtering and internet times, including Wi-Fi off overnight and different times on school days and weekends.
Are there real-time safeguarding alerts, and who gets them? Searches about self-harm or suicide on the home's computers raise an alert in real time. Our team receives it and tells the relevant managers straight away.
Does it stop VPNs and proxies? Yes. VPN and proxy apps are blocked on every young person's network, and at homes built to our full standard encrypted DNS tricks are blocked as well.
What about 4G and 5G? Wi-Fi filtering only covers the home's internet. Our locked-down phones for young people keep their filtering on mobile data and any Wi-Fi.
Can you show it to an inspector? Yes. Reports on searched and blocked content give you evidence for Ofsted or the Care Inspectorate, and every change to a young person's Wi-Fi is recorded.

Cost

A one-off cost for the hardware at each site, then £50 per site per month plus VAT, reduced to £15 per site per month plus VAT for homes on a full QLine IT support contract.

Download our brochure

Four pages: how it works, what we provide for children's homes and care homes, and our prices. PDF, 1.3 MB.

Download the brochure (PDF)

See it working

How we set up a separate network for each young person in a Leeds children's home, with timed access and staff control.

Read the case study

Is your home ready for the online safety questions?

Our free Digital Safeguarding Checklist puts every requirement on two pages, mapped to what inspectors ask.

Get the free checklist

Questions we're asked

Do we need to replace our broadband?

No. Secure Wi-Fi works with your existing internet connection. Each site needs one piece of hardware, which we supply.

Can staff switch off a young person's internet?

Yes. Staff can restrict or stop one young person's access, and the other young people in the home are not affected.

Does it include web filtering and safeguarding monitoring?

Yes. Each young person's network is filtered, illegal content is blocked using the Internet Watch Foundation and Home Office lists, and concerning searches raise a real-time alert. For more on monitoring and inspection reports, see web filtering for children's homes.

Can a manager make changes without ringing you?

Yes. Managers use our app to add a young person's new device, change internet times, change a Wi-Fi password or switch one young person's Wi-Fi off. Anything else, we do for you.

Can a young person have different times on school days and weekends?

Yes. Internet times are set for each young person, and can be different for each day of the week, for example earlier on school nights and later at weekends or in the holidays.

Can you block one app, such as TikTok, for one young person?

Yes. We can block or allow a single app or website for one young person's network, or for one device, without changing anything for the others.

What if a young person uses a VPN to get round the filtering?

VPN and proxy apps are blocked on every young person's network. At homes built to our full standard, devices are also stopped from using encrypted DNS settings to avoid the filtering, and we are bringing every home up to that standard.

Do you supply children's homes outside Leeds?

Yes. We supply and manage secure Wi-Fi for children's homes across England and Scotland. The hardware is set up before it arrives, and everything after that is managed remotely.

Talk to the team other children's homes use

Tell us how many homes and devices you have, and we will come back with a fixed monthly price.

Get a fixed price