To be annoyed by total phone ban

At DCs school they banned phones a few years ago for years 7-10. Y11 ok
in lessons if advised by teacher eg revision apps etc & 6th form free use of phones. But they just have to be off in bags.

This must be decades ago as the mass rise in cars in the 80s radically impacted on how many, particularly primary age children walked to school. So even that change is 30-40 years ago! It’s not how children travel now and there’s much more traffic . Also, lots of children, now we are more open about it we’re taken advantage of as they travelled at young ages. It’s just idealistic crap.

Yup, and generations of kids were subject to all sorts that might have been averted if they'd been able to call home and tell their Mum that a weird man was following them home in the dark at 5pm in December, so they'd be waiting somewhere busy and well-lit till a parent could come and get them.

I'm not sure the average reception would have room for hundreds of phones, though?

From aged 7-11 yrs (we moved house when I was 7) , I walked 1.5 miles to a bus stop to catch a bus at 7.45am that got me to primary school at 8.30am. I did the journey in reverse home. My mam walked me to the bus stop in the morning but I walked home alone from the bus-stop at night.

In the Winter, when it snowed, the buses stopped regularly mid-afternoon and I walked all the way home - about 6 miles, alone. We had no phone at home so I couldn't ring home. My dad would send a van from his factory to find me and drive me home.

At 11 I moved to a school that was about 2.5 miles away and walked there and back every day (no buses but I walked with friends).By then we had a phone. At 14 I moved to a senior school about 3 miles away and got a bus there but walked home every night with friends (until the last mile when I was the last one and alone).

We lived right on the edge of a village on a new council estate and it had appalling transport links.

This is Ds1's Yondr pouch (name covered).
We paid a contribution of £5 to the school.

Did not know that. The kiddy one my goddaughter has doendt have anything other than the ability to call amd answer the maybe 3 numbers that are saved there. And the parents can control it from their phones to make sure they are off during school hours. When it is on the school mode it just looks like regular digital clock and you can't do anything.

'phone watches' are banned in every school I know of. You can't have a load of year nines texting each other in Maths. I don't think phones should be banned in schools but the idea of dc having smart watches is preposterous. At least a phone is out of sight.

My son is in the last year of primary and they all have phones in preparation for high school. They hand them in the morning, they go in a box, and get them back at the end. Some charming child decided to lob a bunch of them out the window 2nd floor. Wasn’t DSs phone but can imagine that policy will disappear.

My son's school has introduced Yondr pouches and so far its working well. Bullying has reduced, behaviour improved and there's less disruption during lessons. They get to keep their phones, switched off, in their bags and can still use them on the way to and from school.

They have to lock their phones inside a pouch as they enter school, this is witnessed by staff and they can't be opened until the end of the day. The pouches have to be opened by a magnet that they 'tap out' on as they leave.

I quite like them.

The more I read mumsnet. The less inclined I am to sent any future kids to school. Metal detrctors to find secret phones? For short term solution I'd be tempted to buy him one of those phone watches made for young kids/smartwatch that doesn't need the phone to be close by. Longer term band together with other parents to stop this ridiculousness.

Phones shouldn't be used during lesson unless it is needed for learning. Phones are not great for kids (nor adults) but also they are here to stay and there are tons of apps that are needed daily that you need the phone for.

Whenever something is banned or some absolutely ridiculous rule regarding uniforms or lunches is introduced I always assume it is due to poor leadership and management from the school. Making up shit for no good reason cause they don't know how to actually handle it.

At my DD's school they sometimes use their phones in class too. They are part of the modern world and I agree they should be taught to use them sensibly. The DC at my DD's school are perfectly able to keep their phones off in their bags during school time.

Her friend at a different school allows phone use during breaks and apparently DC even get them out during class. This school has a problem with discipline not phones per se.

don't know of any, so could you give a list, please!

The was a time before roads were built but we don't say it's fine for our 8 year old to walk along a dual carriage way because in 1940 every 8 year old walked to the school.
What any previous generation did is not how it is now and it's bizarre making comparisons.

Ooooo, I've spotted a hole in the market.
I'm going go round the schools, collect all the phones as they arrive and give them back at the end of the day. I'll have a team, someone for each year group. I'll have charging stations and offer a cleaning service.

This is completely wrong. Phones are integral to how we function and absolutely should be permitted to and from school. So that means the school has to manage the situation by having a system of removal at registration and return at the end of the school day. There is no justification for harping back to times when children didn't have phones. That was then and now is now. It shows such a lack of how phones work for families and can not be justified.

And a few years before that hardly anyone had a home phone so you wouldn't have been able to phone your mum anyway. You would just get home when you did, having taken a bit longer.

When I grew up in the 80s, even though there were payphones, teenagers weren't in constant contact with mum and dad. For a start they would have to be in the house and not on the phone already. If you were going to miss the last bus home you would try and phone home. Otherwise just get on with it.

According to that article a 'ban' just means them not having access to their phones during the day, rather than not being able to bring them to school atall.

I would give mine a bank card. Also I don’t think it’s necessary to see your kids’ location, although I appreciate for some anxious parents it’s reassuring. It’s not really in the child’s interest though and I personally feel that it stunts their independence. I think since smartphones / find my friends was invented we have all got used to tracking locations and it can be super convenient for pick ups etc. But I think that small plus point is totally not worth it for all the other serious drawbacks you get with a smartphone: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-68972494

This may be a really silly suggestion but are there any parks nearby school where he could hide a cheap pre-paid mobile on the way in and then collect on the way out?

I also think you could pop some Bluetooth tags in his bag and clothes.

Given this thread is all about children and phones surely she is raising a valid point without being told to just change her job.

Leaves schools stuck between a rock and a hard place as they are the ones that have to pick up all the pieces after incidents involving social media, even where it occur outside of normal school hours.

Yes. You see it here all the time. 'My child is being bullied on WhatsApp' - the response almost universally is to get the school to deal with it. Why can't parents deal with it?

Does it? I don’t know of any.

It just doesn’t work. They record other students or teachers. They make TikToks on school premises. They go into the toilets and take picture/record people. There is also no need to, they should be able to talk to their friends without needing a device but they can’t. They are addicted to them so they can’t contain their use to 15 minutes a day in a sensible fashion. I’m secondary.

When you were at school were phones as all encompassing as they are now? You are talking about a generation of kids who have grown up with phones/YouTube/games from being babies. It’s a serious issue.

Exactly. Who'd want to be responsible for thousands of pounds worth of phones everyday. Document the condition they were handed in in and the condition they were collected in.

Some are saying class teachers should do it. But that's still 30 phones, with probably an average value of £400 each (some will be much more, some less)
£12,000 worth of phones in one small safe.
How do you make sure the safe isn't broken into or stolen?