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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wish schools would ban smartphones

167 replies

Sotiredofallthisnonsense · 10/02/2023 17:34

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?

OP posts:
DifferenceEngines · 10/02/2023 21:54

Johnnysgirl · 10/02/2023 19:38

What would he have used before smartphones were a thing?

24 hour attachment your iPhone to monitor a health condition sounds very odd.

Show quote history

They would have used a fingerprint monitor. Which would have entailed going to the sick bay, having a finger pricked, and waiting for the reading. It was near impossible to get teenagers to do this, and they suffered complications as a result.

Whatames · 10/02/2023 21:57

Phone free school here. If caught with phone in class or social time then confiscated and parents have to pick them up. We still have parents complaining to the school about what goes on outside school on phone/social media. Makes you wonder where you think some people draw the line between schools’ responsibility and parenting

Whatames · 10/02/2023 22:03

Except for diabetic students who are of course allowed to use them for monitoring.

Cornelious2011 · 10/02/2023 22:04

I've worked in a lot of schools and phones have never been allowed in classrooms or anywhere on the premises.

daffodilandtulip · 10/02/2023 22:04

My child wouldn't get to school without his phone - his bus pass is electronic 🤣

But it's off and in his bag all day.

BogRollBOGOF · 10/02/2023 22:10

With buses getting increasingly awkward about handling cash fares, pre-loading the bus app onto a smart phone is the most practical way for an 11yo to manage to use transport particularly as DS is autistic and dyspraxic so has poor motor control and panics easily. Society is increasingly being structured around an assumption that all people have smart phones and secondary age is no exception.

Not using his phone 8:30-3pm, fine by me, but he does need a smart phone on the journey to school.

I have an advantage that he's not socially minded so isn't interested in anything more than War Hammer tutorials on youtube.

I delay my DCs having phones as long as is reasonably feasible. About half of my 9yo's y5 class have them, but I can't see a purpose to him having one yet.

ScrollingLeaves · 10/02/2023 22:13

tornadoinsideoutfig · Today 18:54
DS needed a mobile phone (not necessarily a smart phone) from when he started staying home alone in primary. They used smart phones from year 7 to take photos of the whiteboard and so on in class. If he didn't have one then he'd have been copying out spelling words into breaktime or having to get them from a friend.

It was ridiculous of the school to not leave time to copy out the spellings. That is the start of learning them. For goodness sake!

ScrollingLeaves · 10/02/2023 22:15

BogRollBOGOF · Today 22:10
With buses getting increasingly awkward about handling cash fares, pre-loading the bus app onto a smart phone is the most practical way for an 11yo to manage to use transport

Are there not ore-loaded cards?

CoQ10 · 10/02/2023 22:16

rainuntilseptember · 10/02/2023 17:48

Wouldn't it be easier if parents didn't buy them the phone, rather than expecting schools to impose a ban?

This.

Parents!!!

We are the only ones who can change things.

My children, who are 10, will not have a smartphone of their own until they are 16. More and more of my kids' friends' parents are starting to say the same. My children know this. They see the awful addictive behaviour of older children on phones, and they understand the issues. And yet they have no idea yet of the content I protect them from.

I don't care what anyone else tells me about the benefits of having access to the Internet. It's utter nonsense. The downsides are obvious and massively outweigh the up.

They can use a laptop at school or at home under supervision if they need to.

They don't need a phone to walk home from school either. Contrary to what one of their primary school teachers told them last week.

My mum sent me an article written about this exact topic in the Telegraph today incidentally. Worth reading.

CoQ10 · 10/02/2023 22:19

Ericaequites · 10/02/2023 19:29

Phones that only make and receive calls, permit voicemail, and allow text are ideal for older tweens and young teens. Social media encourages bullying and drama. Facebook is not a benign app, and it’s hard for patents to say no.

Agree.

anya21 · 10/02/2023 22:21

They use smartphones in thein lessons for example 'cahoot app'

daffodilandtulip · 10/02/2023 22:34

ScrollingLeaves · 10/02/2023 22:15

BogRollBOGOF · Today 22:10
With buses getting increasingly awkward about handling cash fares, pre-loading the bus app onto a smart phone is the most practical way for an 11yo to manage to use transport

Are there not ore-loaded cards?

I asked my bus company about pre loaded cards and was directed to my council. They said I needed to attend an appt that was only available Mon-Thu between 9-4. I had to attend with my child and we both had to take ID.
So yeah, he has a smartphone ticket.

KatieB55 · 10/02/2023 23:05

Not allowed at our school either for kids and staff.
It's great to see the kids laughing & chatting and not looking at phones.

Saltywalruss · 10/02/2023 23:16

HelicopterHeights · 10/02/2023 17:50

Surely it is the parents' responsibility to ensure if their children have a smart phone they use it responsibly?

Do you think children should be able to bring other things to school as long as the parents ask them to use them responsibly?

tornadoinsideoutfig · 10/02/2023 23:20

ScrollingLeaves · 10/02/2023 22:13

tornadoinsideoutfig · Today 18:54
DS needed a mobile phone (not necessarily a smart phone) from when he started staying home alone in primary. They used smart phones from year 7 to take photos of the whiteboard and so on in class. If he didn't have one then he'd have been copying out spelling words into breaktime or having to get them from a friend.

It was ridiculous of the school to not leave time to copy out the spellings. That is the start of learning them. For goodness sake!

They did that for homework, it doesn't need to be in class.

lanthanum · 10/02/2023 23:25

whatanoddthingtoask · 10/02/2023 17:52

My dd has an exemption as her school banned phones and smart watches but she needs both to manage her medical conditions. The other pupils are constantly having a go at her she has to explain about 5/6 times a day why she’s allowed it

When the first Ukrainian pupil arrived at DD's school, her class were asked their opinion on whether they should be exempted from the "no phones" rule so they could use it for translation purposes. I think the overwhelming majority felt that was appropriate.

2Bornot · 10/02/2023 23:35

Totally agree OP! Secondary school age children need a phone for safety during travek but it doesn’t need to be internet capable. Parents only buy smartphones because of social pressure and a deaire to protect their child from being mocked. If schools would please ban smartphones then they’d all bring basic phones and there wouldn’t be all this underage tiktoks and Wattsapp bullying.

Schools neglect their duty on this and the consequence is expense, cyber bullying and 11 year olds watching violent porn on their school commute. Every day.

Also… My son is nine and doesn’t have a phone. He says during the ‘mental maths’ test in the morning, half the class get phones out of their pencil cases and use them to cheat. Teacher doesn’t notice apparently.

😔

shard5 · 10/02/2023 23:48

Sotiredofallthisnonsense · 10/02/2023 18:04

"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.

So you actually had the head of year or form tutor recommend you buy your child a smartphone? Because they'll feel left out?
I would understand and find it easier to believe if they said your child would need a device for lessons or similar but because they'll feel left out??
Did your child not know anyone who was attending the same school from primary?
Both my teens are at a school where phones are not allowed past reception, nor smart watches, kids may have phones at home but in school there's no need for anyone to disclose to anyone else whether they have one or not.

lailamaria · 11/02/2023 00:51

Yes you are being unreasonable, the world is online now, a smartphone is a necessity at this point, you can't just bury your head in the sand a pretend that smartphones aren't a thing

Talipesmum · 11/02/2023 01:11

JemimaTiggywinkles · 10/02/2023 17:50

We ban them. Students can hand them in or have them switched off in a bag. Anyone caught with a phone has the phone confiscated for 48 hours and a parent has to collect it. I haven't seen a phone in class since the policy was brought in, and not seen one in the corridors since about a week after the new policy. Online bullying has massively dropped to.

Same at my kids school. It’s such a relief. They still have them all the way to school and back, and at home, but they’re off in the school grounds at all times. I’m sure they turn them on in the loos sometimes but that’s it. Definitely not used in the classroom at all. It wasn’t an impossible task.

tornadoinsideoutfig · 11/02/2023 06:37

Also… My son is nine and doesn’t have a phone. He says during the ‘mental maths’ test in the morning, half the class get phones out of their pencil cases and use them to cheat. Teacher doesn’t notice apparently.
We did mental maths with calculators right there in our pencilcases. We just didn't use them. A cheat will cheat regardless.

Spoldge45 · 11/02/2023 07:26

I agree its ridiculous & sooo distracting.

One child in my daughters class, secretly filed another child & posted the video online with nasty comments. Which caused a huge amount of hurt & upsey

If phones weren't allowed this sort of thing couldn't of happened,

Its befalling as to why the Gov just stands back and ignores the problem or smartphones in schools

CyberSpaceTraveller · 11/02/2023 12:50

My DS has a medical reason for needing to have a phone in lessons so no they shouldn't be banned. He has his phone out on his desk as well.

It would be totally unworkable to ask DC to hand in phones every morning and then have to give them back when school finishes so YABU.

A teacher should have the skills to manage a class ensuring they have their phone put away in their bag (apart from DS!)

peelbananas · 11/02/2023 13:51

Agree with this 100%

My previous school had a policy of no phones during lessons but allowed at break and lunch. We had constant issues of phones going off in lessons, kids asking to silence them at the start of lesson etc etc.

My current school's policy is phones switched off in bags until the end of the day. If a phone is seen, it is confiscated and given back at the end of the day first time. Second time, parents have to collect it.

It works amazingly and inconveniencing parents to pick the phone up means kids don't risk getting them out their bags.

A PP posted about use of phones in classrooms for learning. That's bollocks. Yes IT is needed, but the school should have the resources for those lessons. If resources are not available, then plan a lesson that doesn't require it. Simple.

Saltywalruss · 11/02/2023 14:35

lailamaria · 11/02/2023 00:51

Yes you are being unreasonable, the world is online now, a smartphone is a necessity at this point, you can't just bury your head in the sand a pretend that smartphones aren't a thing

"The world" isn't on-line. It's where it's always been. You can choose to spend a lot of your time on-line if you want, but clearly children that are physically present at school shouldn't be on-line or they might as well stay at home.