Strict no phones rule at secondary school

At my kids school they have to keep them in house during the school day, but they're allowed them outside of school hours.

I think that's the way to do it - the phones are there for an emergency, but not distracting in class.

I don't like total bans because they lack nuance, they're thought terminating. Rules should be reasonable and arguable, and flexible where appropriate (eg a child cycling home in winter should have a phone).

One of the reasons I appreciate the management of my kids schools is they don't do flat bans on things normally, exceptions can be made to pretty much all their policies for some children in some circumstances. ie. They know their kids, safeguard their kids, and have high expectations. When the kids break the rules, they are appropriately punished. I think it produces better citizens.

I put a Samsung tracker in my sons bag and it works quite well in London. He doesn't have a smart phone so it bounces off passes by.

My son goes to a strict school but they don't ban phones, they're just not allowed access whilst on school property. I don't understand these schools that have a total ban. It's not that hard to say "if we catch you using your phone it gets confiscated until end of term".

I doubt it, as plenty of others are presumably in similar situations. They’ve said they don’t want the responsibility of holding children’s phones.

My reply was in response to @PiFilling post today.

As he's been there for almost a year now, I suspect they may have either found a way around it or he's walking the mile and a half home with his mates quite happily by now. Even if that means he gets quizzed on why he's taken a slightly different route, not left the school site for ten minutes or is a whole quarter of an hour later and she's already phoned Reception twice to find out whether he's left.

Hollow out a old dictionary and stick a hefty rubber band round it 😈

Could you explain your situation to the school and ask if he could drop it at reception on arrival and pick it up when he leaves?

When we were young, there was a phonebox on every corner and, even if we didn't have a 5p piece in our pockets, we all knew how to reverse the charges.

My son's school is introducing Yondr pouches for phones. There has been a lot of lobbying for them by parents of younger children. I do wonder to what extent the lobbying is sponsored by Yondr and their equivalents. If I was in charge they would only be used for children who didn't follow the out-of-sight policy, but they will be used for everyone.

I’m curious what you ended up doing? My DD is going to a phone free school next year and has a similar commute. Apparently they do bag checks so chucking it off in the bottom of the bag doesn’t seem to be an option. Also no smart watches or brick phones allowed either.

That's how our school operate but another local school has as OP described a no no rule as in you are not to take a phone in to school full stop

Mine also has a 30 minute walk, he crosses a shopping street but besides that, no shops.
I had not realised this was unusual.

I can think of plenty of 30 minute walks to places I want to go to that don't involve going past a shop. My 20 minute walk to work is 90% through a park, for example.

But, if I lived in a particularly dodgy area, I probably would be picking my route with ability to get to places where I'd be safe or where there was lots of people about, with a bit more care. (I don't walk home from work via the park route in the dark, for example).

I'm not telling you where I live 😂 but I can assure you, she doesn't pass a shop en route.

There are pros and cons to this policy but from a practical perspective, make sure your mobile and home number is jotted down in your child’s scheduler so that if something happens on the way home, they can ask to borrow someone’s phone to call you.

From a practical perspective make sure your child memorises their home and parents' phone numbers (preferably at an age earlier than starting secondary school so they can tell an adult if they get lost) so they are not reliant on having to look them up.

Also, they need to learn their address. I was amazed how many of DD's new secondary school friends didn't know theirs.

And where are you?

Hi Op,
My children went to a school with a zero tolerance policy regarding phones meaning no phones in the bag or blazer, even if the phone was switched off. The school would do random bag searches and if a phone was found, it would be confiscated until the end of term.

There are pros and cons to this policy but from a practical perspective, make sure your mobile and home number is jotted down in your child’s scheduler so that if something happens on the way home, they can ask to borrow someone’s phone to call you.

I appreciate this sound bonkers, especially for a year 7 child, but my child asked a stranger if he could use their phone to call me when he sprained his ankle and couldn’t walk home. I was able to pick him up in the car without any issues.
I never bothered putting trackers in his uniform but I did explain that, due to not having a phone and him not being able to update me, not to go wandering off on the way home without letting me know.

Also as parents we got in the habit of updating other parents if there were traffic issues, or a school performance over running which meant the children would be late home from school.

@OrderOfTheKookaburra , the underfunding of education is in such a crisis that something like a mobile phone policy is way down the list of priorities. Teachers are on strike this week for 2 days due to the funding issues which means some dc are hanging out at home unsupervised etc on their phones for 2 school days, it puts it in perspective.

Tickets for buses are cheaper if on the bus company app, same for trains. You need a smartphone for those. If you have a smartphone you don't need to carry cash for lunch, you can pick up groceries on the way home. You can sign in to the local gym on the way home from school etc, etc.
Life has changed, smartphones have become a part of everyday life. Not everything is social media based, and not even just a phone to let you know a change of plans.

@DreamTheMoors "There are some doomsayers in the world, @mrstidytraxxxx who manage to see the worst in everything."

You mean the doomsayers who think children are in danger if their parents are not able to track them every second of their day?

There are some doomsayers in the world, @mrstidytraxxxx who manage to see the worst in everything.

Ignore them.

I think the government helped fund it - they didn't have as massive a shortfall for COVID like the UK because they didn't pay up to 80% of income, they paid set amounts.

Or maybe they took it out of the $1000 per child I have to pay to the school every year?

@OrderOfTheKookaburra
In the UK, state schools do not have $20 a pupil spare for a system like that.

@OrderOfTheKookaburra

That is great for schools that can afford it. We looked into that system and it would cost tens of thousands. The government do not provide funding for this.

Would be easier if parents just did not buy their kids smart phone. What is wrong with a phone that only makes phone calls and sends messages? Surely that meets all the requirements for phoning for a lift and checking in, without any of the horrible extras.

Well, @marewindham and @mathanxiety , I can honestly say that we try our best for young people in our care, but obviously nothing will convince you of that fact and I'm sorry that your experiences have been so negative.