Does your school allow phone use during day?

[StrugglingGrief]

I spotted this article on the BBC this morning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgdx7ddz55o

Our senior school has never allowed phones during the day they are expected to be switched off during school hours 840-410.

i didn’t know other schools did. Does your’s? Children are told to go to reception if they need to contact parents and we contact reception if we need to contact them.

Some of them absolutely will do this, but if 80% comply, they you will only be dealing with 20% of the problems phones cause.

It’s about creating a cultural change, which can’t happen overnight. But if you can get Year 7 and 8 into the swing of never using a phone during the school day, they will be used to it once they get to Year 10 and 11.

Slightly unnecessarily aggressive- no, I thought that many schools that I know of, you get the gist, had banned them.

We too have had yondr for several years.

The price is just gone up a lot actually, we gave all of our kids one free, and if they lose it, they have to pay a replacement fee, but this is gone up, presumably as demand increases

Ban phones, but with the way things are going perhaps re-introduce 'Duck and Cover' rehearsals?

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_and_cover

I absolutely agree with you - like I said on another post I’m playing devils advocate a bit on this thread (but I would have broken the rule 😂.)
In reality and probably from my position as a primary school teacher I am an advocate of dumb phones only for under 16s.

The reason given for children needing phones is often they need to be contactable on the way home. A dumb phone achieves this without the risks associated with social media.

I don’t really understand why having a phone in the school environment is more of a safeguarding risk than any other environment. In some ways, it’s a safer place, more closely supervised by adults and safety in numbers. The bad stuff usually happens outside of school.

Yeah, i can see that as an issue and I bet there will always be kids who manage to get around it. One mitigation is the school regularly asking parents for the make and model of their kids' phones - I'm sure there are parents who support their kids in getting around the system though.

I think the penalties for being seen with a phone are now much worse as well eg not just a single detention.

Middle school since forever: handed in at the beginning of the day. Returned at home time. Takes two seconds: each year group has a cart, each class has a box on the cart with named slots, each child picks up their gadget as they walk past the MS office on their way home.

Upper school: this was trialled on four separate days at the end of last year. Hugely successful per teachers and pupils. As of this year they do the same as middle school.

This is a city center school (in the US), where 90%+ students commute by subway and bus.

The data is irrefutable. The Netherlands and France have already taken drastic action. I think that barring phone and watches completely will be the norm within the next few years. We will look back on the poor kids who didn’t have these bans with regret. I saw this yesterday.

DD’s school uses yondr pouches. I think it’s brilliant - they all get properly stuck into clubs etc at break times & socialise rather than being stuck on their phones. And it just removes a point of friction from the classroom. Yes some kids find work arounds (tbh I don’t think dd always locks hers just because she can’t be bothered to unlock at the end of the day) but when the default is no phones it’s far easier to police the odd infraction.

I think that one day soon we will look back in horror at the freedom we have given this generation of dc with smart devices and sm so young.

Yes they have been banned in my DDs secondary school since they've been there. One is in sixth form now and one yr 9. They have to turn them off and put them in their lockers at the start of the day. If they get caught with them, even if turned off and in their bags, the phones are removed and they are punished accordingly.

I thought all schools followed this type of protocol so am surprised to hear other schools allow kids to use them around the school. Of course that's inviting problems.

imahine kids taking photos of others, videoing staff at work. Texting their parents who then phone school rather than getting help from staff themselves and making endless work
calling mates in lessons to meet in the loos.

are those enough?! 😀

A school is also our workplace. School has to ensure we can do our jobs without being humiliated by videos being put online for eg

I don't think parents in my school would accept this or respect it.
well some would but I think there's be a vocal minority complaining about their "rights".

My DC's secondary school (state) confiscates phones and keeps them for 24 hours if they're seen or heard. The children are allowed to keep them turned off in their bags. They're monitored during lunch and breaks, so there's nowhere they could use them except in the loo cubicle, as far as I know.

I'm shocked that any school allows them at all. Also that textbooks aren't used more. Is school funding so severely in crisis that schools have to depend on phone internet because they can't afford basic books or a computer for anything that has to be found online (surely up to GCSE level that isn't necessary... perhaps for geography? I must be getting old)?

@Tomorrowisyesterday yy. I remember a kid saying “ but what if my mum died?”

i suggested that this news might not come by text 😀

thing is , if a school consults and there’s only limited opposition, then the parents can always move their kids elsewhere 🤷‍♀️

My DD’s school allowed then when she started year 7, a change of HT saw them being banned going into year 8 last year.
My DD is allowed hers but rarely uses it because the teachers ‘forget’ and other students ask why.. so she only checks it break times descretly and that takes seconds ..

My dd started school this September. They do allow phones as long as they stay in bags during lessons.
When I've asked about making friends and who she chats to at break/lunch she just says that everybody is busy looking at their phones really so she's not getting to know people.
I realise that it's early days but it's making me a bit sad.

All phones must be deposited in a (provided) Faraday pouch which is locked at 8.30 and unlocked at 4pm.

Any unlocked phones are confiscated and a parent must collect them from the school office.

It works well. Bullying almost stopped overnight. Has my complete support.

Upskirting.

Fights escalating/encouraged to be videoed for entertainment purposes.

Airdropping inappropriate videos/messages, showing it to each other etc.

Taking unflattering pics/vids to share of other pupils or teachers.

That's just off the top of my head.

Phones are banned and confiscated if seen but they also expect the kids to use them when it suits them. My Yr 11 son has to use his phone in 2 subjects.

I think this would work differently in Scotland, we don't apply for schools in the same way and you're entitled to a place at your local school for the most part.
(incidentally I did get a text to tell me my mum had died! Not while I was a kid thankfully)

No.

All phones are handed in to their head of year before registration and collected back at the end of the day.

DD's school have introduced a new policy for this year, they aren't allowed them during the day - have to be switched off and in bags. Including lunchtime and breaks.

But do you set parental controls to restrict internet browsing, caneea etc etc during school time? If you do then its a medical device. It shouldnt be an excuse to avoid the rules.