To wonder what the ban on smartphones across 17 schools in South London will acheive.

@Noonelikesasloppytrifle so if you see a child with a phone you just assume it's for medical reasons?
Would you then stop and ask them? Surely that's time consuming? Any child could say it is.

Exactly - that's my point. 99% of students won't need a phone for medical reasons so they don't have them on site.

@Noonelikesasloppytrifle yes but you said it's impossible to know the medical details of 2000 kids. So if you see one with a phone how do you know they are using it as a medical device? Do you just accept their word for it?
Surely any child could just say their phone is being used as a medical device.

And walking around the corridors?

Because only those with a medical need can have a phone. Therefore if that child has a phone they need it and there is no need to challenge.

Ive taught kids with type 1 who need a phone for reasons already explained. Even in our massive school it’s only a handful each year group so it is easy to put a small dot on the seating plan to indicate that they need their phone whilst the rest of the class don’t.

@Noonelikesasloppytrifle if there's no phones allowed how can that make the "safety" of a child who is monitoring their diabetes better?
Because they can't have their phone?

notbelieved 1200 kids in my school. I can't possibly know from the off the medical conditions of each student. It takes time. I would probably challenge your DC but it would only be once and I'm pretty sure for most staff that would be the same. However, my point stands. If there are no phones on site then this removes any ambiguity and would certainly enhance the safety of your DC.

Or the teachers concerned can do their jobs properly and know which kids have serious medical conditions? I mean, if you actually think a bit, imagine sending your child to school everyday with a condition that if misunderstood, or ignored, or response is delayed, your child could become seriously ill or worse? Wouldn't you expect staff to have a bit of a clue? Now have staff demand the removal of the device that is monitoring the condition, or better still, have one demand your child puts in insulin when they're hypo (happened more than once...!).

I teach. I know the pressures of the job. I know this is a huge additional pressure. But my child's life quite literally depends on staff knowing what to do. Funnily enough, I feel happier that now he in a school with a type 1 teacher - less margin for stupid errors when he's around.

Your point absolutely emphasises why phones should be banned from schools. Schools have to challenge because of the sheer volume of issues that arise from their usage. Your DC is a casualty of this. Develop a system where only those with genuine need have them and there would be no need for the challenge.

New DfE guidance about this so I expect most schools are updating their policies. It’s a good thing in my opinion

Yes, I accept that a male child with a short walk home is less at risk, but having phones can also be a risk. A friend of ours had to deal with an assault on his son and his mate and theft of their phones because despite parental warnings they were using them openly on the walk home.

I hope they make sure they measure and record what happens properly so it's success or failure can inform future policy. A big missed opportunity otherwise.

@Maray1967 we didn't have phones, but we had phone boxes on every corner. People out and about who were willing to get involved. Police out and about etc. Your son might not need one, with a ten minute walk, but fir others they are useful.

If those girls getting sexually harassed in knowsley by the asylum seekers couldn't have filmed them, it would still be an issue. Or we'd have grooming going on. The ability to film and take pictures can safeguard children against adults.

I'm assuming it will stop most kids from sitting in class on their phones. Should have been banned a long time ago.

I'd be very suspicious about stats and data on this, who designs the data collection, how its interpreted and why. Nor is it necessary, anyone with eyes and a brain can see that smartphones are as harmful as lead paint to children and young peoole, anyone who argues the contrary is just full of cope.

Yes of course they do. All the time.

And the international solution is to not allow phones in schools. Because this is a better solution than allowing kids to still be able to phone each other. They don't need to be able to phone people when they're in school.

This would be much more complicated to implement than simply removing the phone. And what would be the point of having a phone if the features are turned off? If you absolutely need to contact your parents, they can do that at reception.

I asked about the OP's original post and the schools banning phones in Southwark. Not the ones local to me where some parents have had one hell of an uphill struggle getting the permissions required for the children to use their phones.

I mean, imagine having to justify your phone use several times a day to a bunch of people who, if they had bothered to read the emails and look at the photos, would know why you had your phone in your hand.

Which tells me that the school phone ban doesn't apply to the child who needs to use it as a medical device.

I teach. I also have a child with type 1 and a relationship with a number of local type 1 parents. I can assure you that there are schools (or rather, individual teachers within schools) who will happily let children collapse to the floor before allowing them to use their phones to monitor their blood sugar. They are frequently challenged on their having a phone out in class or in the corridor, to the point where frankly, it is a discrimination issue. I mean, imagine having to justify your phone use several times a day to a bunch of people who, if they had bothered to read the emails and look at the photos, would know why you had your phone in your hand.

Schools are not perfect places for children who are unwell. Some schools are, of course, amazing. But many aren't.

I have worked in education for over 20 years. Bullying is nearly always made worse due to social media.

a phone can be used as a dictionary in both English and MFL, it can be used to play educational games (think Blooket et al), it can be used for research on any topic whatsoever, it can be used as a revision tool (think BiteSize), it can be a calculator in maths and science, it can be a ruler to measure things in a whole host of subjects, it can provide up to date maps, you can watch videos on a whole host of subjects to support learning.....off the top of my head. If used appropriately in education, it is a useful tool. Unfortunately, too many children don't understand how to use them appropriately.