Setting up Sandcastle

From a USB stick to a child playing

Twelve steps, about half an hour of it yours and twenty minutes of waiting. You do not need to know anything about computers, and you can stop after any step — this page remembers where you got to.

Before you start, have these to hand

  • The computer you are giving the children. If it is empty it gets wiped; if it has Windows on it with room to spare, Sandcastle installs alongside. Either way, copy off anything you would miss first.
  • A spare USB stick, 8 GB or bigger.
  • Your Wi-Fi password.
  • Your phone, if you are using the app.

Not sure the computer is up to it? Check what it needs.

Step 1 of 12

Put Sandcastle on a USB stick

About ten minutes, on the computer you use every day.

Install it on the kids’ computer

About twenty minutes, and most of it is waiting.

Connect it to your phone

So you can set screen time and pause it from wherever you are.

Only if you are on a Cloud plan — Sandcastle works without this

Make it theirs

Five minutes, and the part the children actually notice.

Stuck on something that isn’t here?

Write to [email protected] and say which step you are on. A real person reads it.