To think parents are not teaching any independence?

Should also add that the homework apps are on phones. So without a smart phone they’d be a bit stuck.

Conversely, I think having a phone actually gives children independence.

They have the security to travel, visit friends and access support services - they can therefore leave the house and go about their day.

Right so we’ve agreed that the majority do, which was my original point. Thanks.

I agree. It carries on from teenagers until they are adults. You see it in posts saying people in their early 20’s aren’t really adults yet. Infantilising young people seems to be getting worse.

Part of being independent in this day and age involves having a phone. So much is geared to having a phone now and essential life skills are all on people's phones where as before they weren't. Bus passes, payment methods etc, even more when you become an adult. They need to learn how to use a phone because it's an essential life skills now where as when I was growing up in the 80s it wasn't. Time moves on.

Look at the links that have been provided by more than one person. It's well more than 6% of school kids.

My sons school doesn't do this and neither does the school I work in. So this is a failing by the school really not to be organised. Both schools do however do a morning lineup so if there was a last minute assembly they would be told in lineup.

The majority do but a significant minority do not. Even if it were 1%, 1% of a large number can be a lot of people. I suppose you don't care if you're not one of the disadvantaged ones though.

Yes and of that 6% only some are school age children, so that is relevant.

My child is allowed phone to and from school but turned off and out of sight on school premises.

seems to work and for them it has improved independence as they feel more confident. Due to a medical condition they have needed to call us a couple of times for reassurance and check they can take meds. Also needed to call when there have been bus issues and needed pick ups. Not a lot of options around here.

I know a lot of people on here are against tracking - but we also have this and it helps us to know they’re safe and was used when practicing using buses a year or so ago.

they have also learnt to use maps and track us when lost and can use what three words in an emergency.

we are in a digital world and that is independence whether you like it or not.

we have the phone pretty locked down and strict rules. Wrote out rules and went through various scenarios of photo sharing and when to tell us something dodgy has popped up. And they have done this. Scams have also popped up which have been a good learning point for them as we’ve been able to talk things through. So they have learnt important skills.

due to clubs and things it’s also useful to have phone after school as they change their minds and it’s helpful to know where they are. Older teens maybe be different. But for younger secondary I’d be worried if they were late.

great that back in the day there was less worry and everyone got home alive and safe (but they didn’t!) - but nowadays I think things are different.

im also in the camp of taking my phone with me when I go out. I pay for things, check maps, track my steps and have reminders and lists (shopping etc). If I’m driving I like to have a phone in case I break down.

DD can do all of those , with or without a phone. However , some of your list is very middle class/London centric.

Not everyone can afford foreign holidays , or even trips to London . How can a child up North learn to confidently navigate the London Underground if they’ve never been?

I had to give mine a smart phone for the bus solely because their bus pass is on an app. They both have old iPhones of mine with no apps/social media on, just the bus pass app and the ability to call or text me. So I’d be happy to swap to a dumb phone if they change the school bus pass system, and if they fund the new phone because the phones they have were provided specifically because they needed it for their bus pass.

So you can’t see that the majority of UK children DO have access to a device other than a phone?

We are discussing school children on this thread.

Such double standards

The school require all homework to be handed in on an app.

The bus passes are all on their phones

Yet phones are banned from the school.

I live in a rural area the bus journey to and from school is over 40 mins each way, a few weeks ago the road was closed - the bus driver made my child get off a bus in a village 6 miles away and said it wasn’t his problem the road was closed…without their phone I would not have been able to locate them and pick them up.

We have since provided stats that show that more than 6% of UK school children don't have access to a device. If you can't see the problem and count your privilege, then no-one can help you.

The school buses are going to have to change as the ones here only accept digital passes.

I worked in a school that had those pouches. They are very expensive as part of the school budget and a lot the kids just had two phones so put an old one in the pouch and kept another hidden. So nothing really changed. School was still having to police it and confiscate phones.

Also we might have had phones 20 years ago but the first proper smartphone was in 2007 and a lot less stuff was digital only like tickets or timetables or booking things.

Its going to be interesting seeing this work in practice over and above the normal school thing on saying we will confiscate your phone if we see it un use until a parent collects it.

I assume this was felt to be doing something even though the big issue is tiktok scrolling at home for 8 hours

I'm a teacher and a parent of teens (who are quite independent) but I think this whole mobile phone thing is a massive government gimmick. My school and my children's school all had a phones away in bags policy before this anyway and it worked fairly well. Many schools are going no phones at all because of the new policy. As a parent that is really quite inconvenient because lire has changed from when I grew up without a mobile phone. We used to have payphone on every street corner and we don't anymore. What if my kids want to go to a friend's house straight from school? What if they decide to stay for a club. Currently they send me a message to let me know because I am still at work.

Also as a teacher, my school has said no phones on trips and insisting parents buy them digital cameras instead.

None of this fixes the real issue which is as soon as they leave school they will all be back on unregulated social media and with unrestricted internet access. What did the government think was happening in my classroom prior to this year? That we were all just sat on snap chat with our phones out? Also, whem Bridgett Philipson said that teachers should not have phones out she has failed to understand that there are multiple bits of school software that require me to use my mobile phone for authentication.....would she like me to stop doing the register then? Again, I don't have time to sit and scroll on Facebook at work, it's only ever out for work purposes.

YANBU, I feel strongly about instilling independence and life skills into kids from being young.

For example, I taught DD to cook from being tiny, I sat her in her high chair in the kitchen so she could see what was going on and she helped make food from being a toddler. She started making hello fresh meals from being around 14. Now she’s at uni and she said how glad she is she learned to cook as nobody else her age has a clue.

She is now at uni abroad and did her own applications, sorted private accommodation, her visa and residence permits, and lives with her boyfriend. She drives and is pretty independent, learned the language for the country she’s in, learned how to public transport etc.

Contrast to my 22YO stepson, who can’t cook (because grandparents or his dad do it all for him), he doesn’t take the bus to work (30 mins direct, from the road next to our house) as his dad takes him instead. He doesn’t do his own washing (dad does it) or tidy up after himself (dad does it) and won’t even get up to get his own drink or snack (dad gets it for him). He expects lifts everywhere (as he can’t drive, although he did try, he just couldn’t do it), his dad even did his job application for him. It’s exasperating.

I have started the process of leaving because the house dynamic is unbearable!

Yes and then mentioned you’re not in the UK which has no relevance.

If you can’t recognise that 6% (of the entire population, not school age children) is a small minority then I can’t help you.

I think I'd prefer my child to have a phone so if they miss the bus or are stuck in traffic or decide to go to a friends house after school, then I'd know. Back in the day there were pay phones everywhere and it was normal to have your important numbers memorised, so there would have been a means of contacting. I'd be fine with a smart phone ban, I think it's much harder to bully people or for messages to go viral on phones with no apps or cameras. So a phone that just does text or calls would be a good compromise

And yet the school will post an announcement about assembly, room changes etc. often after many kids have already left home. It’s not the end of the world of course, just follow the crowd, ask what’s going on etc. but there is the implied expectation that they will be on a phone on their journey to school.

Your statistics are wrong.

Around 14% of young people (roughly 2 million individuals) lack access to a learning device like a laptop. Additionally, about 45% of households with children in the UK fall short of meeting the Minimum Digital Living Standard, largely due to financial or skill barriers

https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/policy-and-research/research-and-evidence/research-2024/digital-inclusion-datasets

It depends where you live. My teen was threatened with a knife last year on his 15 minute walk to school. Sadly not a one off for children here and not something I ever had to deal with walking to school in a big city. I’d rather him have a phone for emergencies.

This is an AI overview so I don't know how accurate it is, but it is a sobering thought.

Nationwide, an estimated 2 million young people (14%) in the UK lack access to a learning device suitable for their studies, and about 570,000 (4%) lack both a device and home internet access. This digital divide disproportionately impacts disadvantaged students and deepens educational inequality.
Specific statistics highlight the extent of this digital divide:

• Hardware & Devices: 17% of primary school students do not have access to a laptop or desktop computer at home. Furthermore, 15% of children must share a single device among multiple family members.

• Internet Connection: About 11% of UK households have little to no internet access, forcing students to rely on expensive mobile data packages for schoolwork.

• Vulnerable Groups: Young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) are at a significant disadvantage, with 20% lacking access to any tablet or computer.

• Higher Education: Among university and college students, up to 24% and 16% respectively report struggling with mobile data costs when learning online.