To wish schools would ban smartphones

[Sotiredofallthisnonsense]

Aibu to think that its the very least schools should be doing so that schools and parents can work together to minimise the harm that smartphones cause - which imo far outweigh any benefits. By allowing smartphones even in the classroom, schools are the largest contributer to the peer pressure to have one. Am I in a minority of parents who wish schools didn't permit smartphones?

"I think that you are trying to abdicate responsibility here. You need to parent. Teachers have enough to do."

I was told by the school they recommend my child has a smartphone as they'd be the odd one out otherwise. I didn't want my child to have a smartphone but the school recommended they were bought one. I'm not sure what parents can do in that situation other than condemn their child to social ostracisation.

Maybe its just how I'm reading it - and apologies if so - but a child without a smartphone is "an inconvenience "?????

I think there's a balance to be struck. Our local secondary insists on phones off and in bags during lessons. They can be used at break. It's policed and it works pretty well - but then the school is really tough on bullying.

Local 6th form treats their pupils like adults - no uniform, phones allowed and expected to be used responsibly in lessons, access to school WiFi. Again, it works well.

Maybe the parents could be proactive for once and stop buying their prodigy these phones, it would reduce a lot of problems they cause which they then expect the schools to solve! Start being parents and not pseudo-friends.

Phones aren't allowed out in the classroom in my son's secondary school and it seems to be well policed. I don't think they should ban the children having them though, as most children here have them for safety reasons.

We live very rurally and DS catches the bus to school but has missed it occasionally at home time so has had to contact me to arrange to collect him. On a couple of other occasions, the bus broke down en route and I drove to collect him. I doubt the school would have been interested in contacting the parents on either of these occasions.

However, the school requires children to have their own specified Lenovo tablet device to take to all classes to be used as a note taking device and for project work etc. It is meant to be fairly locked down to prevent kids using them for nefarious purposes but my son and presumably some of the other kids can easily bypass these settings.

As a parent, I think it's incredibly important that all parents engage with technology and learn more about keeping safe online, preferably in partnership with the schools and specialist organisations.

What they shouldn't do is rely solely on schools to monitor their children's access to the internet which is surely the parent's responsibility?

My sons secondary school do not allow phones in school time at all. Not at break or lunch either. They have to be switched off in bags all day.If they are seen they are confiscated and a parent has to collect at the end of the day.
My son turns his phone on at the end of the day once off school premises so that we can contact each other if there is an emergency or one of us is running late. I’m happy with the school rule regarding this.

see above.
Parents often shout at us that were ridiculous for not allowing them or smart watches in school, and actively work against us!

I would prefer it if students were allowed a basic phone that makes calls and that is it. This would get round the argument that they were needed for safety on way home. I think the ship has sailed on smartphones and teens. They are the cause of much of the mental health angst that many teens display.

I agree with you OP. I think phones are an unnecessary distraction in school.

DDs school is very strict on phone use. They have to be off and in their bags the minute they go through the school gate and they're not allowed them out again til end of the day.

If a child is caught with the phone at all during the day (including lunchtimes) they are confiscated and then the parent has to collect the phone. They won't ever return a confiscated phone to a child. They deliberately inconvenience the parents.

Most schools I know don’t allow phones at all in school. If they see them or hear them at all they lose them until the end of term.

but you can't make schools police before and after school.

But that's precisely what parents expect, how often are parents told to 'report it to school' whenever it occurs under the heading of 'safeguarding'. Maybe if parents practised safeguarding of their own children there would be fewer problems both in and out of school.

When we attended high school open days a few years ago, all the schools prided themselves on saying how they banned phones during school time. However on nearly every visit we’d walk into a class and the pupils were all sat on their phones doing research or homework. Turns out they need a phone as they don’t appear to have books, worksheets, dictionaries in class. This was the case at the grammar and non-grammar schools we visited. My son is now at secondary school and has to use his phone in classes pretty much every day. They even had to use them in maths the other day “for research”.

In my sons school they are encouraged to Google on their smartphones in some lessons others they are tasked with playing a specific online educational game on their phones

I agree they should not be allowed in school. Luckily our school has this policy!

I visited one school during the choosing process where when this topic came up, the head claimed they had 'never' had an incident where a pupil shared inappropriate material

I think banning them in school is simple and clear. Kids can do what they like (within the law) the second they leave the premises.

Dd's school they're not allowed. Switched off & kept in lockers. Confiscated for 5 days if caught using it (which i think is ridiculous but it hasn't happened yet so I've had no cause to object)

So do you think it wise to give your child a phone at 18, ne experience? Like those parents who don't let their kids try alcohol and then think it's safe for them to live in halls at uni with everyone who has been drinking for 1-2yrs and knows how to handle themselves and what they can drink. It looked dangerous to me then and still does now. You have to teach them how to manage themselves. Confiscation of phones doesn't teach them how to manage in real life. Unless in a low skilled job with a locker like retail most people have their phones on them at work and have to control themselves, even the teachers.

Isn't it up to the parents not to buy them in the first place?

Emmanuel Macron planned to ban them, don't know if it happened in the end.

Should be in lockers.

In my son's primary school phones have to be handed in upon entering school then collected on exiting school. Not sure how they keep up with so many phones though, maybe they don't get too many!

Neither the school I work at or the school my children attend allow phones in school. They need to be kept in bags and if seen using it during the day they are confiscated.

Both schools require devices in school (eg chrome book). A school I used to work in allowed phones and it was a nightmare and they’re too small / inappropriate to use as a device in school.

Phones are one of many, many issues where schools simply cannot win. For every parent like OP who thinks it is the schools responsibility to police kids use of smartphones purchased by parents, there will be a parent who insists its none of our business and their child must be allowed their phone at all times or we are in violation of their basic human rights.

In the school where I work phones have to be off/on silent and in bags during the school day. If they are seen by staff they are confiscated. Most parents are supportive of this, but a significant (and very vocal) minority aren't. We have had parents tell their children to refuse to hand their phones in, staff have been verbally abused for confiscating phones. One parent tried to claim we were in breach of the Equality Act because not being able to read and respond to texts during lessons increased her child's (undiagnosed) Anxiety.

We cannot ban kids from bringing phones onto the premises altogether as the majority of parents would not support this, most want their child to be contactable on the journey to and from school.

If you don't want your child to have a smartphone, OP you could choose not to buy them one. If you don't want them to have it at school, you could choose to buy them a smartphone but make them leave it at home on school days. But I suppose it's easier to choose to buy them a smartphone and allow them to take it to school, then blame the school for the harm you believe it's causing them.

Yes I think it's very wise to confiscate them at school.

These are teens who need to work on social skills. If they had phones, their real life interactions would be more limited. There is no substitute in life for good social skills.

The pupils have plenty of time outside school to learn how to manage their phone use.

Banning smartphones would cause a complete meltdown of the switchboard - parents use them to monitor their children's locations, to text/msg, the kids use them for public transport apps, buy things from shops, use for travel if their Oyster doesn't cover it (they don't give free travel on trains, for example, they still need to pay 50%), other areas don't give free travel at all, so they're used for all travel costs, they're vital for some medical monitoring equipment and being the only child with a smartphone takes away their entitlement to medical confidentiality whether they like it or not - and some parents (the ones most likely to go ballistic in the event of a specific ban) expect to be able to message or call their children during the school day.

My son's school requires all phones to be handed in at 8.45. and to be returned at 4pm. They have a secure storage unit in reception. Any pupil caught with a phone during school hours hands it over for a week or until the end of term. Or chooses to go elsewhere. It's part of the school contract.
It makes all the difference. No porn, no phone based bullying, no disruption in classes. It's great.

I teach in an excellent state school. Parents phone their DC when they are in class.

We would love to ban them.

Parent Council of school (Scotland) refuse.

Used to be able to confiscate phone and take it to the office to be collected at the end of the day for persistent use in class. I am not permitted to do this, a parent pointed out out our liability if theft/damage/loss occurred after confiscation. School cannot afford this and overwhelmed admin staff have more to do than be phone jailers.