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Original poster

Government announces ban on mobile phones in schools

237 replies

noblegiraffe · 01/10/2023 23:06

...because it won't cost them anything and there won't be any pushback because the vast majority of schools banned phones years ago.

Perhaps they could also ban kids running in corridors or pushing in the lunch queue.

What a waste of time government this is.

(by 'banning phones' it's generally accepted to mean kids can have them in their bags but they must be turned off or at least on silent and never seen - so any parental cries of 'but they need them for the journey home' are irrelevant.)

OP posts:
OtherSideofNowhere · 02/10/2023 11:58

I mean my friend's kids are being taught in a fucking marquee because of the RAAC disaster closing parts of the school and there not being enough temporary classrooms. But sure, mobile phones is the thing I want the government focused on.

TheBaddestTurkeyInTown · 02/10/2023 12:32

needtofatoff · 02/10/2023 08:15

I am shocked at this. What a huge distraction. Why are they googling things in class and not being taught by a teacher.

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There is a game called Kahoot which is good fun and the perfect way to end and recap a lesson. Students needs technology to join in the game though and phones are perfect. I think it could be played on a tablet too.

Rozatsky · 02/10/2023 13:29

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enchantedsquirrelwood · 02/10/2023 13:32

My son's school allowed kids to have mobiles but they had to stay in bags. If they were seen by a teacher, they were confiscated and parents had to go in to collect.

I don't think many schools, if any, allow the kids to play on their phones during lessons!

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 02/10/2023 13:35

@Rozatsky wouldn’t it be more appropriate to have a teacher, i.e. an expert in classroom teaching, come on your show to discuss the use of mobile phones as educational aids, rather than a parent or teen?

I mean, the Tory conference just had a panel discussion about teaching maths to 18 which contained no maths teachers or indeed anyone who worked in schools or colleges.

You wouldn’t want to make the same mistake as them, would you?

OP posts:
SoLongAndThanksForAllTheVaricoseVeins · 02/10/2023 13:35

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Why is this the aspect of this story that you want to focus on? Surely the story here is that the government is announcing a policy in an area it has no need to be going anywhere near, in order to try to garner a handful of votes, and is floundering towards the election without any proper policies, vision or direction, and badly messing up the country as it goes?

sadaboutmycat · 02/10/2023 15:24

I'd be furious if they tried to ban phones in my DGD school. All parents/ grandparents work over 20 miles away and if needed she can call for help, a taxi, ask Dad or Mum to put money on her dinner card etc etc.
She doesn't use it inappropriately and she doesn't go on the net in school.

piscofrisco · 02/10/2023 15:25

I'm in favour of it. But it's bit of a turnaround in some schools such as my DD's where they actually have to have a device to use in lessons doing online quizzes and such.

Notagains · 02/10/2023 15:34

It's a nonsense not only because most schools ban them anyway but also because the Government can't actually ban phones in schools. They will issue guidance to schools to say phones should be banned but it will be non statutory so it will still be up to schools to decide.
They just want to do it because they think it will please their voters but it's meaningless

bombastix · 02/10/2023 15:40

Most of their voters are so old that the chances they have children diminishes with each year past 40.

Blah blah blah

bellac11 · 02/10/2023 15:44

felisha54 · 02/10/2023 11:37

At my dc school they are not allowed phones out on school grounds at all. If found they're confiscated immediately for a week. Repeat offenders up to 3 months.

What school is that? You can only confiscate things until the end of the school day. Its not the schools property

DontMakeMeShushYou · 02/10/2023 15:45

As an academic librarian, I am infuriated by this policy.

What I would like to see is schools teaching children how to use the super powerful computer in their pockets to find out information and to carry out good quality research. How to spot scams, manage day-to-day life skills (online banking, train tickets, e-books, a multitude of other useful stuff appropriate to their ages).

Mobile technology is the future but yes, let's make sure the only exposure our kids get to it before leaving school is via their friends outside school hours. What a way to make sure British kids are left behind.

Whenwillglorioussummercome · 02/10/2023 16:01

Notagains · 02/10/2023 15:34

It's a nonsense not only because most schools ban them anyway but also because the Government can't actually ban phones in schools. They will issue guidance to schools to say phones should be banned but it will be non statutory so it will still be up to schools to decide.
They just want to do it because they think it will please their voters but it's meaningless

Yep, this is my issue. It's an empty thing, aimed at people who aren't close to the subject. It's meaningless in every way.

Luddite26 · 02/10/2023 19:06

It's a joke. So unnecessary. And if Labour had said this there would be cries of nanny state.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 02/10/2023 19:19

lljkk · 02/10/2023 07:52

Our school moved away from punishing the kids for forgetting their PE kit. The PE teachers hated it. They found it was mostly kids who live between homes (parents live in different homes so child's stuff moves around different homes) which is why the PE kit got forgotten. So pupils don't get detention for that any more.

Queues to buy school food are very long, takes all lunch time to get something potentially, and school food is expensive, so I was thinking about packed lunches being forgotten. How would child make sure parent was bringing a lunch to avoid the unnecessary expense?

Which messaging App? Does the teacher send the message or have to find someone in office to send the message ? Who thinks communicating to the office what the message should say is a good use of teacher time? What if there is a Q at student reception, so that the child is late to class because they were waiting to ask reception to message parent about the forgot lunch that needs bringing in?

What if the child forgot when they agreed to play in netball game after school, that they have an orthodontist appt on same afternoon. Is the parent supposed to message back to the App to say child can't go, so the person in the office can then track down both the PE teacher and the student, to remind them that the orthodontist is today & therefore child can't attend the Netball match? Will the office person then return to the App to confirm with the parent that the child has received the message and everything is back to what parent needs?

Depends. There are plenty around. Some, the teacher clicks the Club, types, 'Your child is attending...' and hits send to all members. Assuming it isn't already on the Clubs tab on the parents' app and they already know about it and the automatic reminder hasn't been set to go at 2pm. As the app is used to mark attendance, the teacher is already there and able to see the reply saying no, so can send the kid home.

The rest is exactly what happens in schools anyhow. Because kids don't check their phones/pay attention to parent messages (lots have them blocked). Getting adults involved is the only way to guarantee the message is given.

callingeveryone · 02/10/2023 19:23

Schools should be the ones to decide whether mobile phones are banned.
Stupid vote-seeking announcement.

HeidiHunter · 02/10/2023 20:45

No mobile phone use in my kids (Scottish) school. They've got ipads from p6 upwards though.

Maireas · 02/10/2023 20:50

DontMakeMeShushYou · 02/10/2023 15:45

As an academic librarian, I am infuriated by this policy.

What I would like to see is schools teaching children how to use the super powerful computer in their pockets to find out information and to carry out good quality research. How to spot scams, manage day-to-day life skills (online banking, train tickets, e-books, a multitude of other useful stuff appropriate to their ages).

Mobile technology is the future but yes, let's make sure the only exposure our kids get to it before leaving school is via their friends outside school hours. What a way to make sure British kids are left behind.

What, you don't think they have ICT lessons or PSHE? Honestly, do you think schools just ignore these issues?!

DontMakeMeShushYou · 02/10/2023 21:02

Maireas · 02/10/2023 20:50

What, you don't think they have ICT lessons or PSHE? Honestly, do you think schools just ignore these issues?!

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No, silly me. I must be dreaming up all those hundreds of first-year undergrads who turn up at my library in the first few weeks of term utterly clueless as to how to use any of their technology to access the material they need for their courses.

Maireas · 02/10/2023 21:14

Well, that's extraordinary, because it's part of the school curriculum....

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 02/10/2023 21:25

I'd have thought unis did 'intro to the library' sessions to teach undergraduates how to access their course materials?

OP posts:
Original poster
noblegiraffe · 02/10/2023 21:29

But the idea that banning phones is stopping kids from being taught how to identify scams when that doesn't require a phone, or that schools would somehow teach online banking using children's own phones (and bank accounts??) is mad.

What banning phones does is stop kids endlessly on TikTok, taking BeReal shots, watching the bloody football, keeping up their snapchat streaks and playing games. They actually socially interact with each other at break times and lunchtimes.

OP posts:
DontMakeMeShushYou · 02/10/2023 21:31

Maireas · 02/10/2023 21:14

Well, that's extraordinary, because it's part of the school curriculum....

It may well be, but it is woefully unfit for purpose. It would be very naive to think that simply because something is part of the school curriculum it is taught to the depth required by young adults leaving school and heading to university. ICT lessons are not enough. These skills, specifically around using mobile technology, need to be embedded across every subject.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 02/10/2023 21:44

noblegiraffe · 02/10/2023 21:25

I'd have thought unis did 'intro to the library' sessions to teach undergraduates how to access their course materials?

We do. We spend a huge amount of time and resources teaching a multitude of courses for undergrads, grads, and academics on all sorts of research skills. We can't cover everything. It would be preferable for students to arrive at university with better basic skills. School librarians (if a school actually has a qualified librarian) can only do so much.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 02/10/2023 21:47

noblegiraffe · 02/10/2023 21:29

But the idea that banning phones is stopping kids from being taught how to identify scams when that doesn't require a phone, or that schools would somehow teach online banking using children's own phones (and bank accounts??) is mad.

What banning phones does is stop kids endlessly on TikTok, taking BeReal shots, watching the bloody football, keeping up their snapchat streaks and playing games. They actually socially interact with each other at break times and lunchtimes.

Banning phone use during breaks and lunchtime is a good idea.

A blanket ban on mobile phone use during school time, including every lesson is, imo, not helpful.