Ban on mobile phones in schools

[bytheby]

Gavin Williams has proposed this and announced a 6 week consultation. Does anyone know how we can feed into the consultation?

I am in favour. In fact I don't think children/teens need phones at all. If people are worried about safety walking home then there should be a simple phone with a map function and ability to call available.

I am a sensible adult and I find it difficult to control my own mobile phone use so how can we expect children to.

Children accessing porn. Children unable to 'switch off'/addicted to screens. Children being contacted by older strangers. Children having unrealistic images of how they 'should' look pushed onto them by social media. Children unable to escape school bullying (or just a break from their peers) at home. Children losing the ability to converse. Children more anxious than ever. etc etc.

If your childhood was pre mobile phones do you think it honestly would have been improved by having one?!

Anyway, if anyone knows how to become a part of the consultation please let me know! I have googled to no avail.

Here's the consultation consult.education.gov.uk/school-absence-and-exclusions-team/behaviour-strategies-in-schoolunits-managedmoves/

[quote AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken]@AttaGirrrrl

I’m a teacher and always post the PowerPoint of the lesson on classroom. It makes sense that the students have it to refer back to for revision etc.

When I was at university for my BA, I was given a dictaphone to record the sessions as I have a learning disability. By the time I was in MA classes, the lectures were recorded as a standard and put on our classroom.

There are ways around these issues.[/quote]
Errrr. Yes. So am I. So do I. But I’m not arrogant enough to assume I’ve thought of everything when I put my PPT together, neither do I have a PowerPoint for every lesson. A lot (most?) of the learning isn’t happening on the PowerPoint. It’s on the board, or on your friend’s mini whiteboard, or in the freeze frame you just came up with…

Decent teachers, in decent schools with decent policies on phone use are likely to be much more effective than a headline grabbing “one size fits all” national policy, that actually goes against several of Big Gav’s other headline grabbing policies…

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

When I was at secondary, admittedly late90s-early00s, all mobiles had to be handed in at reception on arrival (with a sticker on with your name on) and collected at home time.

I dont see why kids should have to use their phones to take a photo of their homework - surely taking appropriate notation in a planner is a skill that should be maintained?

Using them as a calculator or research tool - again, why? Buy and carry a calculator (which can only be used for it's intended use) and are text books not a thing any more?

Having phones for all of these above purposes may be worth it if the trade off wasnt so bad. Ability to take photos of others against their will, ability to secretly record conversations, ability to look up completely inappropriate content in class, potential bullying of the kids who dont have or dont have the right phones, financial risk of loss and breakage, noises going off in class, added pupil management for staff now having to monitor phone use.

Not fucking worth it. All because Timmy's mum wants to know he got on the bus safe? Timmy's mum needs to ask herself what she did as a kid.

I agree with you 100%, well said.

I agree with the no-phones rule. There could be other devices available for children with SEN.

@SoupDragon

Yes, smartphones are useful for research but the fact is the harms massively outweigh the benefits.

That depends on the child. For many with SENs the benefits outweigh the harm. Maybe look at stopping the children who are using them in a harmful way than penalise those who are not.

This. The use of technology (mobile phones and ipads) has revolutionised my children's learning. It means they can actually be successful academically.

No mental arithmetic 😂😂 some of them wish.

2 of my children are type 1 diabetics. I need them to be able to call me when travelling. My DD once called me on the hour trip home from school with blood sugar of 1.9. It was terrifying, but I found her and treated her.

None of the 3 schools my children attend allow phones even in bags or pockets during the day. They need to be switched off in a locker or they will be taken.

It feels like yet another parenting issue that is being outsourced to schools. Don’t want your DC to have a phone? Fine. Don’t give them one.

Don’t want your DC’s learning to benefit from technological advances? Fine. But let mine use his.

@UserAtLarge

Yes, smartphones are useful for research but the fact is the harms massively outweigh the benefits. Why would you want your kids exposed to distraction, addiction, grooming, porn, sexting, bullying?

This thread is about banning phones in schools. I would suggest that most of those things take place when children are out of school ...

I’m sure all this is happening outside of school but it’s happening in school too. Interfering with learning and affecting kids’ wellbeing.

@AttaGirrrrl
I don’t consider problem solving as arrogance.

I’m actually fascinated by this. I had no idea until today rang I felt so strongly about phones in schools

@Bitofachinwag

I agree with the no-phones rule. There could be other devices available for children with SEN.

Agree. School provide an iPad if you have SEN.

*that

Hahahahhahahahha. This is so out of touch with reality it is hilarious. Where’s the funding coming from? Who’s deciding who gets the iPad?

@AttaGirrrrl

It feels like yet another parenting issue that is being outsourced to schools. Don’t want your DC to have a phone? Fine. Don’t give them one.

Don’t want your DC’s learning to benefit from technological advances? Fine. But let mine use his.

Some decisions have to be taken collectively for the good of all children. A lot of kids and parents are not capable of ensuring devices are used responsibly and that harms everyone. The nature of school is that there have to be blanket rules and you can’t leave things to personal responsibility.

Neither do I @AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken

The arrogant bit would be if I assumed that all of the content that my pupils could possibly need had been thought of - by me - and put into a PowerPoint before any children did any learning. The PowerPoint is never the lesson.

Having spent 3 years trying to get ds access to a laptop for lessons where lots of typing was involved. (SENCO agreed he needed it) and it just never happening I think the idea of schools being able to fund ipads for children with an SEN is laughable.

DD's school used to allow phones for travelling to and from school, but they had to be handed in every morning and collected from the hall every afternoon.

Since they went back last Sept, anyone wanting to take a phone to school has to have permission, and it has to be left in the office for the day.

i genuinely can't believe there are schools that encourage their use during the school day.. all the secondary schools around here have a blanket ban on them already.

Phones aren't allowed to be used during the school day, and have to be switched off and kept in their bags.

I can see the benefit with SEN, but for the rest, if the school want technology used, they ought to provide school devices to use during the lesson, not be allowing kids unfettered access to smart phones.

@AttaGirrrrl

Hahahahhahahahha. This is so out of touch with reality it is hilarious. Where’s the funding coming from? Who’s deciding who gets the iPad?

Teacher/SENCO decides. Honestly it’s not impossible to do this and actually schools/ department of education should not be able to get away with relying on parents to provide essential equipment.

@AttaGirrrrl

It feels like yet another parenting issue that is being outsourced to schools. Don’t want your DC to have a phone? Fine. Don’t give them one.

Don’t want your DC’s learning to benefit from technological advances? Fine. But let mine use his.

Schools have always had restrictions on what children can bring. This is no different.

Children are not better educated now than they were before phones.

From seeing the effects early access to social media and more adult sites (porn etc) have on teenagers I'm glad I grew up before the smartphone! It just sounds much more stressful than when I was their age (sounding old now!). Mobiles are great for being able to contact parents and friends but there needs to be more control over social media. Anxiety, depression, narcissism has gone through the roof because of it.

No I don’t. I’ve got a DC with SEN and when they go to secondary I’ll have to use the tracker to make sure they’re safe.

Well…. This will need to start with schools

• nit asking the pupils to do a Google search in their phone during class (as part of their learning)
• expecting the same students to be able to access their homework online (which means using a phone to do so when in class) etc….

Having said that, I really don’t think they can enforce a ‘no mobile in schools’. They can enforce a ‘mobile in the bag/locker during school hours’.
I thought this was the case in all schools already tbh….

@Comefromaway

Having spent 3 years trying to get ds access to a laptop for lessons where lots of typing was involved. (SENCO agreed he needed it) and it just never happening I think the idea of schools being able to fund ipads for children with an SEN is laughable.

But this is the thing to tackle, at a policy level. We need to campaign for more funding for SEN devices. It could go hand in hand with the ban.