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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

OP posts:
Grandmasswag · 19/02/2024 22:16

They should 100% be banned in school. Can’t really believe schools have let it slide to it being normal to have them in the classroom. Piss poor leadership. I heard a scientist/data cruncher on the radio earlier saying how studies had shown how distracting they are in a classroom environment. Basically it’s a miracle kids are learning anything. There is a benefit to limited use in leisure time so they weren’t totally against all phone use.

whiteboardking · 19/02/2024 22:26

@Grandmasswag 99% of schools have 'no phones in sight' 'off in school' policies.

WhatNoUsername · 19/02/2024 22:39

@cardibach There are secondary schools that do this already so it's obviously logistically possible.

I support the banning of phones completely in school. It gives children a good solid long break from their phones, reduces bullying, helps ensure that they can concentrate on their eduction and encourages children to be present. Children should also not be in fear of being photographed at school and having that uploaded to social media.

And if it were possible a ban on social media for all under 16s. It's a bloody scourge in society and completely unnecessary. It fuels bullying, addictive behaviour, poor mental health, and is effectively giving a while generation of children difficult with attention and concentration. It's a public health emergency and something drastic needs to be done about it.

I also think that the "attention" model that these companies use should be outlawed, in the same way that other things that are bad for you are outlawed or made harder to obtain. If they cant do this, the companies won't be able to make their apps addictive in order to make money. The algorithms and other tactics they use to draw you in and keep you there won't be able to be used. This will fundamentally change how they work and they'll probably have to move to a subscription based model which would make than much less accessible to younger people and much less attractive generally. No one should be making money by surreptitiously drawing in and holding your attention for hours at a time, let alone children.

DogsAreBetterThanHusbands · 19/02/2024 23:18

whiteboardking · 19/02/2024 22:15

@DogsAreBetterThanHusbands all the high schools round us operate much the same. They defo don't all go back to one point at the end of the day for another registration. As for 'trusted pupil' collecting & giving out phones... I wish state comps, even great ones, were that civilised. What about when the latest ££££ phone goes walkabout?

Don't bring it to school then. Every parent knows the policy when their child joins the school, if they don't like it then they can enrol their child somewhere else.

whiteboardking · 20/02/2024 08:24

@DogsAreBetterThanHusbands point is that schools with 'out of sight' policies are ok without a total ban. For big state highs collecting in & accounting for 1800 smart phones every day wouldnt work.
Phone seen is a phone confiscated.
I can only imagine your school is smaller and possibly private.

whiteboardking · 20/02/2024 08:27

@WhatNoUsername I agree re addictive nature of insta / you tube shorts / Tik tok etc
But teens use snap / WAp to organise their whole lives so hard to take that away without socially isolating them.
I work with a group of 24 teens which includes a lad who isn't allowed anything. He's socially impacted and left out of things all the time

Mumof2teens79 · 20/02/2024 08:31

There's already laws about knives and U16s. I don't think they need to ban them from schools specifically.

DogsAreBetterThanHusbands · 20/02/2024 11:10

whiteboardking · 20/02/2024 08:24

@DogsAreBetterThanHusbands point is that schools with 'out of sight' policies are ok without a total ban. For big state highs collecting in & accounting for 1800 smart phones every day wouldnt work.
Phone seen is a phone confiscated.
I can only imagine your school is smaller and possibly private.

It's not private, there's 960 pupils total in year 7 to 11. Plus about another 200 in 6th form. Though 7 & 8 are 7 form entry. So there will be approx 1250 in 3 years time. Though I'd imagine the 6th formers don't have to hand their phones in. I will ask my children and see if they know.

I think it could definitely be implemented in larger schools but they would need the children to be in their form groups at the beginning and end of the day.

WhatNoUsername · 20/02/2024 11:28

whiteboardking · 20/02/2024 08:27

@WhatNoUsername I agree re addictive nature of insta / you tube shorts / Tik tok etc
But teens use snap / WAp to organise their whole lives so hard to take that away without socially isolating them.
I work with a group of 24 teens which includes a lad who isn't allowed anything. He's socially impacted and left out of things all the time

Yes but if none of them had it, it would take that pressure away. That’s exactly why I think it needs to be “banned” (if that’s possible!!). Otherwise there’s always going to be pressure on parents to allow their children to use it, even if they are aware if the harms, because otherwise as you say their child is socially isolated. It puts parents in an impossible position.

whiteboardking · 20/02/2024 11:31

@DogsAreBetterThanHusbands yep. Ours would have to add a form time session at the end of the day as currently all pupils at thus end of period 5 every day could be anywhere on site as they don't do lessons in forms. Our site is quite spaced out too re some areas like PE or art / tech building

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