ParentShield

ParentShield should be included because describing it simply as a “general child-safety mobile network product” overlooks a significant part of both its purpose and its real-world use. ParentShield is specifically designed to support children and vulnerable users who may not be well served by a conventional mobile phone contract. Many thousands of families using ParentShield have children with SEND, including autistic children, and the service provides a range of network-level safety and monitoring features that can be particularly valuable for these families. Unlike a standard mobile network with parental-control software added on, ParentShield's safeguards operate at network level. Parents and carers can manage and monitor calls, SMS and mobile data usage, restrict who a child can communicate with, receive alerts about new correspondents, set school and bedtime restrictions, control data access and, where appropriate, access call recordings and AI-generated call summaries and risk indicators. Features such as Ultra-Secure Mode can restrict communication to an approved list of contacts, while Home Numbers provide designated trusted contacts. These controls can be particularly useful for children and young people who are vulnerable to unwanted contact, scams, coercion, inappropriate communication or who may need additional support in using a mobile phone safely. ParentShield also works with families who need a mobile phone for safety, independence and communication but for whom an unrestricted mainstream mobile service may not be appropriate. This includes children and young people with autism and other additional needs, as well as children in care and other vulnerable users. Importantly, ParentShield already supports many thousands of SEND families across the UK, including families in the Wakefield area. This is therefore not simply a mainstream children's mobile product that might incidentally be useful to someone with SEND; SEND families form a significant and established part of the service's user base. The relevant question should be whether the service provides meaningful support to children and young people with SEND and their families, rather than whether it is exclusively available to people with SEND. Many valuable services are not SEND-exclusive but are nevertheless highly relevant and beneficial to SEND families. Excluding ParentShield solely because it also serves children without SEND risks removing a genuinely useful option from families looking for safer ways to give a child or young person greater independence and access to mobile communication. ParentShield also has a dedicated resource explaining how the service can support children with autism and their families: https://parentshield.co.uk/mobile-phones-for-children-with-autism For these reasons, we believe ParentShield is directly relevant to SEND families and should be included.

- Paul Stevenson