Mobile phone ban in school- not sure what is reasonable!

[greenmarsupial]

My children’s secondary school have just sent out an email about the new DfE guidance on mobile phones in school. Currently, they are allowed to bring them but they must be off and in their bags during the school day.

The school are consulting parents on options but with a heavy steer. It sounds like any lockable option is time -consuming and expensive so they would probably like to just say no phones whatsoever.

I do fully support the school and would reinforce rules around phones but for some reason this has made me quite cross as I feel it oversteps. My kids often go to the local leisure centre after school- they need the app to book and get in. They need Apple Pay to buy anything… I appreciate we could probably ask if the leisure centre does physical cards and they could carry a bank card so there are get arounds but why do we need to when that’s not the direction of travel for most things?

I am far from in constant contact with my kids but I do find it helpful to check their location and for them to be able to let me know if they need collecting - the plan is normally to walk but if friends don’t go or a club us cancelled then we need to communicate. I’m all for them having restrictions but I think that’s my place as a parent.

I’m happy to be told I’m wrong about all this- my gut reaction was just to be annoyed. I know we didn’t have tracking and text in the 90s but I was definitely a teen who was rarely where I told my parents I was so maybe it’s paranoia although this generation seem almost too sensible 😂

Why are you annoyed though? At the end of the day there is no difference between off/ on silent at the bottom of a bag or at home.
If your child isn’t dicking about on their phone in school it’s really a non issue.

I suppose whether it's different to now depends on whether they are checking bags to see that here's no phone - OP wants the child to have access after school, not to have to leave the phone at home

I would consider it an overstep aswell. Phones in the bags seems like a perfectly reasonable compromise and I would happily support they can confiscate the phones until the end of the day if kids are caught breaking that rule.

But I would much rather my child is contactable for an reason if I needed to

Because they are moving towards no phones at all, not even switched off in their bag.

Yes sorry- currently allowed to have off in bag, consultation to be stricter and either locked away (clearly not schools preference) or not in school (cheapest and easiest option for them). They would be sanctioning children with phones in school at all e.g. checking bags. I fully support them having them off in school but feel it’s too much to say they can’t have them after school either.

I agree and I’m thankful my dc will have phones in pouches. I work so they often message straight after school to ask to go with a friend somewhere or let me know they have extra drama to finish off their gcse piece etc. No phone at all is a massive pain in the arse - we’ve become so used to being able to contact dc after school.

I think the issue with phones in bags is that a significant minority go off to the toilet to access their phones.

OP - i think you should explain the uses your DC has out of school and ask for lockable pouches.

I don’t agree with having no phone at all. It’s much more expensive to pay on a bus here compared to buying a monthly pass that can only be done on a mobile app. My DD only has one bus an hour and if that doesn’t come then someone needs to go out and pick her up (or she misses her evening clubs), we couldn’t do this without her being able to text.

Unless a child is on their phone though the school doesn’t know any different.
It’s clear the majority of children don’t keep them in their bags, but come on, if OP wants her children to access the leisure centre with a QR code after school is fairly obvious they can just keep their phone off until they leave school and it’s literally a non issue.

If the DC is mucking around with the phone in school there will be consequences from the school, which is fair enough.

It sounds like you are just making up that they would search bags though. You initially say you think they might like to just ban phones, now they’re checking bags?

The school are consulting parents on options but with a heavy steer. It sounds like any lockable option is time -consuming and expensive so they would probably like to just say no phones whatsoever.

I would agree tp no smartphones if they allow basic (call and text only) phones, turned off during the day.
But not a complete ban on all phones

You have two options - back them up and do what they tell you.

teach your children it’s okay to lie and hide something that’s forbidden.

I think the problem with "no phones at all" is it impacts dc who have after school activities or long journeys where they might need them.

My dd travels an hour and a half each way to school via bus and taxi (and they aren't the most reliable) so I want her to have a phone to be able to call me if she gets stuck.

Our school is bringing in lockable pouches, is that not an option for your school?

Does no one get a bus in? About two thirds of the kids did at my DDs old school and all had their bus passes on their phones

My child walks home from school - no way would I let them without a phone to call for help if they needed it.

@Honeyhonayboo- I feel like you are just trying to catch me out. I’m happy to be told there is another way to think about it but I’m not making things up.

I didn’t copy the full letter for obvious privacy reasons but it does say that the current system of turning off and being in bags e.g. not seen in the school day no longer aligns with DFE guidance. As a result they feel there are two options - handed in or not in school and they stated that they would be checking bags.

@iamfrustratedtherein lies my problem- I always back up the school but in this case I feel they are overstepping. I wouldn’t encourage my children to lie or hide things and they absolutely wouldn’t do that anyway - they are very rule-abiding kids.

A compromise would be for parents but purchase a phone bag to lock it away if they want their dc to have access to and from school.

A school near us that already has this rule does random ad hoc bag searches, or if one child’s phone goes off all 30 bags in the room are searched. They are not allowed to have them in their bags at all.

Well exactly! The school serves quite a rural community as well as the town and from what I have seen, the bus service isn’t always reliable.

That is a very good suggestion!

No, would not support my child not being able to have his (off and in his bag) because it would have a big effect on his after-school activities. He would have to walk home (30mins) to get it before going to his sports club or using the bus to go into town.
And it would definitely cause issues if DH or I were ever held up and unable to get home on time (e.g. Rail network failure or massive traffic issue) Our council area is going with pouches.

Yonder pouches are quick and easy, it's just the one off cost

They was an option in that they put forward in the email but said it would cost the school £40,000 which would come out of school budgets. That’s the bit which felt like a massive steer towards no phones at all. I like PPs compromise of parents buying/renting them though.

Phone the office if you need to get hold of them during the school day

It is the actual DfE advice and it’s shit. Kids need their phones - to pay in shops, get into the swimming pool, tell me they’ve popped to their friends, that they’ll be an hour late as staying after school, all sorts of things.

And stop with all the - well we didn’t have phones. You could say that about a million things. But the world has changed. 98% in the UK have a smartphone and much of life’s admin now revolves around them. I would be furious if my school did this.