Supporting the online lives of children with additional needs
Children with additional needs experience the best and worst of online life. This briefing explores this and how schools, government, platforms and their parents can best support them.
On this page
- Methodology
- Key findings
- Our recommendations
- Read the full briefing
- Resources to support parents and carers
- Explore more research and policy work
Methodology
This briefing draws on data from our Digital Wellbeing Index. The Digital Wellbeing Index is an annual UK household survey of 1,000 children aged 9-16 and their parents, exploring children’s online lives through four indices of wellbeing: physical, emotional, social and developmental.
In this research, we define children with additional needs as: children who receive Special Educational Needs (SEN) Support, children with a physical or mental health condition that reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities, and/or children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or equivalent.
Key findings
- Children with additional needs spend 26 hours online per week – 5 more hours per week than their peers.
- 92% play games online.
- 4 in 5 use AI chatbots.
- Two-thirds say that being online makes them happy.
- 65% say being online is important to meet people who become good friends.
- Three-quarters say that being online helps them to participate in activities and events that are important to them.
- 1 in 3 struggle to control how much time they spend online.
- Four out of five have experienced harm online.
- They are twice as likely as their peers to be bullied online.
- Four in five turn to a parent when something goes wrong online.
- Parents of children with additional needs are twice as likely to reach out to someone for help.
Our recommendations
As children with additional needs stand to gain – and lose – more from the time they spend online, it is critical that they are supported effectively by all those who are responsible for their online safety and wellbeing.
Government
- Monitor the efficacy of existing legislation and regulation and take further action where needed.
- Include tailored support for parents of children with additional needs in the Government’s online safety parent hub.
- Support schools to deliver high-quality media literacy education to all children, including those with additional needs. This should be done through clear guidance to schools, access to high-quality resources and comprehensive teacher training.
Platforms
- Take a safety-by-design approach to the development of products and services, including by providing children with developmentally appropriate experiences.
- Support parents by providing easy-to-use and easy-to tailor-parental controls.
- Incorporate media literacy-by-design into platforms.
Read the full briefing
Resources to support parents and carers
Keeping children with additional needs safe online
Helplines, guides and resources
Advice and guidance by need
Advice for parents of neurodivergent young people
Supporting neurodivergent young people in online games
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