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 😂

Except there isn’t a single properly conducted study that simply having a smartphone in school is damaging their wellbeing, nor have the restrictions led to any improvement in behaviour or attainment. People just whine “screen time” and “social media” then jump to a ban on phones rather than looking at what is actually happening. In the 80s and 90s we were all going to rot from too much exposure to TV, that never happened. My daughter recorded about 10 hours of screen time a day prior to sitting her exams, when you looked at the detail, about 80% of that was actual studying. That’s no different to the 2 or 3 hours of screen time I had as a teenager but noooo, we need to cut that down. Typically older generations not understanding how our kids live.

Our school are saying they need to lock them in their locker

theyve suggested they have an iPad instead which is basically the same thing 🤦‍♀️

My daughter can use contactless to pay the journey rate to and from school, or using the app and only available on the app I can buy her a bus pass which covers her to and from school plus any other journeys she makes - it saves between 20 and 30 pounds a month.

Her school went to phone lockers but unfortunately it was an out and out failure, the design of the school meant it took about 30 minutes to give every student their phone back, after a week and the school bus company complaining they went back to phones off in bags.

Although not a study I can tell you as a teacher that mobile phones being locked away makes a huge difference. Less toilet breaks, less bullying, more concentration and engagement, kids communicating with each other ... but what do us teachers know eh!

As a parent I believe you and I support phones being locked away. I am just not a fan of absolute bans on bringing them to school as some children do have good reasons to need to

Maybe this is like some parents being annoyed at bans over photos of kids, as in it's something that wasn't seen as an issue when you were at school, but nor was revenge porn/sexting/cyberbullying. As in the teachers see the danger to all the kids of allowing it, while you (quite rightly, probably) think it isn't a danger for your particular kids.

Now and again. Good thing her head's tagged to her body tbh.

It's a bigger issue than the pouches then. I sympathise as I had one like that. Seems better now they are an adult and it's their money they are wasting.

I asked ChatGPT about the costs, and it said this

*For example, a secondary school with 1,000 pupils might spend roughly:

• Pouches: £15,000–25,000
• Unlocking stations: ~£1,000–2,000 worth of hardware
• Plus any implementation or support costs if not included.

It said Yondr suggest an opening station per 60 students, so you'd need about 17 for the school in the example. I wonder how much time is added to their exit from school?

All our local schools are saying no smart phones end of. Brick phones can be bought in and kept in bags for emergencies.

My DD starts secondary school in September, all smartphones are banned. Children are allowed "dumb" phones aka brick ones that only calls and do text messages, and they also need to be switch off when you enter school premises.

That’s just not true. Absolutely there is still debate to be had, and clarity to be gained about how mobile phones are affecting young people in school, but it’s wrong to say there’s no evidence. Plus the reams of anecdotal evidence from schools and teachers who have implemented bans.

We all as adults know what it is to spend more time than we want on phones, to feel our attention spans reduced and the compulsion to check phones at times. Honestly that’s all the evidence I need personally but the evidence base is developing. Incidentally, many of the studies that refute the harms, are funded by big tech.

https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/resource/smartphone-free-schools-evidence

No, they still have to hand them in at reception on way in, and its primary, so no buses etc. I think it's to encourage parents who haven't bought their child a phone yet, to get a talk and text rather than a smart phone, to reduce social media use.

The school my daughter goes to for year 7 onwards has the Faraday pouches, which I agree is better.

The parents would be buying the pouches, I know we have to for our daughters secondary when she goes. Or they can chose to not send their child with a phone.

Probably more likely to be set upon for their phone than have time to get their phone and call for help .

Very true. Unless it has a voice activation function, which also sends an instant location, and you are also not working and able to pick up the phone straight away and drive to them before they are hurt

I wouldn’t like this at all. Also, it’s 2026. Phones off in school is fine, but it is a huge overstep to say a child can’t have access to a phone on the way home/out from school.

The school provides them where I am - not sure if paid for by each school or local authority

My children (youngest yr 12) both went to school which has always had a complete phone ban so honestly I don’t understand the panic from parents about their children not having phones. So we have never experienced them being allowed phones in school. When I hear stories from friends at other schools with bullying taking place online during school time am so relieved that my children’s friendships were,at school, formed away from screens. Admittedly we are in London so those who got the bus would have an Oyster card. Onus needs to be on bus companies to provide physical cards here again. Muggings of children attending this school didn’t really happen or very rare as known in area that children in that uniform wouldn’t have a phone.

DD school has brought in pouches and it seems to work well. She carries hers around empty as she has no phone and so has to be wanded to check for one everyday. A bit of an inconvenience but we support no phones in school.

Sorry, wanded? What like a metal detector?

@Promisingtree yes. Quite a few schools use those (not just for phones)

Depends where you live! Round here I have never heard of any child being set upon for their phone

It's unlikely where I am too, but people keep suggesting a phone is essential for safety.

My children have an app on their phone that can walk them or a friend though administering an EpiPen then simultaneously alert family and call and ambulance. it's pretty useful and recommended by their allergy specialists