Welcome to ParentalPower.co.uk

I am Simon, an IT professional with more than 20 years experience, and the proverbial "beardy geek" - I run a small IT consultancy in Cambridgeshire, www.BeardyTech.com , providing advice, support and hands on work on all manner of techy needs, for businesses, charity and home users.

I have run IT for a group of charity schools across the region, engineered IT systems in the fight against online child abuse, and helped train teachers and parents on how to keep their children safe online - and I can help you too!

Xbox, Playstation, Steam, iPhones and iPads, PC's and Macs, Android phones, tablets, and Kindles all already include a wealth of tools and options for better parental control and visibility. The hard part is navigating it all, getting it set up, and turning the right things on for the right devices! I can help navigate that path, explaining your options, helping you form a strategy, enable controls, and resolve issues along the way.

The Internet - there's a range of ways to control what comes in through your WiFi - it doesn't have to be all or nothing, and you may already have the tools you need. I can help configure web filtering and parental controls included with your broadband, or advise on and implement more elaborate setups.

Social media - a loose term that encompasses and crosses over with so much nowadays! I can help you understand the risks, learn what to watch for, and get parental controls setup properly on major platforms.

If you want to achieve more, I can help with that too - there's a range of subscriptions and apps which can "roll together" several needs in one place, letting you get better controls and visiblity across all the devices your child might use. I can advise on and help setup cross-device controls and filtering. 

Having many strings to my bow, I'm also happy to pursue any tangents with you -  like organising backups from phones or PCs, I can help with NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices to keep your family photos and important documents safe (without a cloud subscription fee!) or help you consolidate and get a grip on your families cloud storage usage and subscriptions! I can help you share out that printer across your network, or finally get you the rock-solid WiFi you always wanted throughout you home - and even the shed! I can advise on upgrades, additions and replacements for your computers, home theatre, CCTV and other gadgets. I can carry out most work, and source or supply new and refurbished kit as needed, to help you get the most from your tech at home!

I have worked with students directly across KS3, GCSE and A-Level (11 - 18), running after school clubs and covering formal lessons. I'm happy to help nurture and mentor a budding young geek - I can involve your children in techy projects around your home, or set and monitor goals for extra-curricular learning opportunities - whilst having fun along the way! 

I'm friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about tech, I keep abreast of current trends, and am an online gamer myself - it's not just for kids! I understand the needs in the home are just as important as those in the office, but won't bring any unrealistic expectations - it doesn't matter where you're starting from, so long as we're moving in the right direction! 

I have no commitments to specific products, suppliers or services, and will only give genuinely unbiased recommendations - or explain my biases where they exist! I'm also unfazed by the unexpected, don't mind a bit of mess, and try to avoid "geeky speak" where possible - and explain it where not! :)

Drop me a line today and start untangling your families IT!

An introductory 15 minute phone chat or equivalent email exchange is free, which might be all you need.

Beyond that, I can help as much or as little as you like, at a simple, hourly rate of £60 (or portion thereof!) 

I am happy to travel to you, discussing your needs face to face, and settings things up side by side.

contact@beardytech.com

01223 92 1982

(leave your availability and number for a call back if you hit voicemail!)

Testimonials

Simon has been helping us with IT family safety for over a year. He sets up new devices and makes sure the old ones are doing what they should. Coordinating Apple, Microsoft, Xbox and Google account's, for both time, content and app limits is a complete minefield and to be honest, we are not capable of it. Simon manages to do it with ease and with a smile on his face at all times. He has also installed a fibre backbone around our farm, linking 7 buildings to one internet connection, he has coordinated a new CCTV install for us and he has brought our IT systems completely up to date. Simon is brilliant at his job and we recommend him to all of our friends. - James & Davina Harvey, Stretham