To be shocked that 97% of 12 years olds have smart phones?

[Rhayader]

My DCs school does not allow smartphones and most of the schools around here are the same. The kids all have Nokias (and often an AirTag or similar for tracking).

I can’t believe it’s 97%! Am I totally out of touch? She’s never even asked for a phone.

https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/23/children-who-dont-have-smartphones

I'd say it's been the norm for DC at secondary schools to have smart phones for 8 or so years.

Only a minority of schools have "no phones" policies (it's way more common for the rule to be "off and out of sight"). There do seem to be more moving towards the full ban though, and if that proves to be an enduring policy taken up by more schools, then perhaps the numbers will fall back a bit.

But as second hand handsets are so readily available now (loads of people have a drawer of doom that contains at least one) and the costs are low, I think ownership will remain similar to current levels.

The vast majority of kids I know who are year 7 like my DD only have a Nokia or one of the other 2 allowed phones. They have to sign a contract with the school when they join saying they won’t have a smart phone until year 12 and they won’t have any social media accounts.

My kid only has that phone too. Tbh it’s quite funny as they all call each other like the early 2000s because they don’t know how to text with the keyboard “press 3, 3 times for F”.

We don’t have homework apps except for Sparx which they do on a laptop/computer at home. Everything is written - usually stuck in their books.

And all her friends have them too.

Surprised you're surprised too.

They have them for convenience, socialising (all plans made online) safety, school has apps for homework, timetable, messages.

Definitely normal once in high school in this day and age.

Schools here all insist on parents providing iPads.

The irony is that the phone signal is so bad here that if you are on a bus or something happens, you’d have to walk quite a way to even get a signal. I reckon it’s still 99.9% of independent 12 year olds who have a phone here though.

My son is almost 12. Just started secondary (although SEN school). He has a dumb phone, which he got when he started 3 weeks ago. He has been amazing about it. He only needs it to let me or the childminder know when he is 10 minutes away so we can go to the bus stop to collect him. Otherwise, I'd not have got him one at all. He understands that smart phones can be addictive and that it is better for him to wait for now.

I really can't see any benefit to him from having access to a smart phone. If they need to do homework online then we can use a family laptop in the family areas to do work in (he doesn't, his school don't set things online). I don't need to track him, but if I did I'd just use a tracking device as opposed to a smart phone.

They have to sign a contract with the school when they join saying they won’t have a smart phone until year 12 and they won’t have any social media accounts.

I'm calling bullshit! There is absolutely no way that's true or even remotely enforceable.

They have to sign a contract with the school when they join saying they won’t have a smart phone until year 12 and they won’t have any social media accounts.

Lol

Like the school can control what they do in their spare time.

Whereabouts are you? That's really, really unusual. The school is deciding if a child can have a smartphone ? That's bonkers, do they come round your house and check?

How can they sign enforceable contracts when they are underage and likely unrepresented?

I’m not surprised, every child round here has a phone for secondary (few can walk to school, and public transport isn’t reliable), and I’ve not seen any brick phones.

Most parents have smart phones and have done for years, most kids have a parents’ old phone with a cheap sim in it, as such have smart phones as pretty much every adult has had a smart phone for the last 10 years, so that’s what their old phone is.

Brick phones have to be specially bought.

My kids had smart phones by the start of year 5, way later than a lot of their friends. DS (13) has homework set where he has to scan a QR code to begin so schools here are exacerbating the issue then complain that the kids have phones and it's bad for them.

The schools I know that only allow Nokia also supply the kids with chrome books or ipads. What will the school do if they get a social media account before year 12? Expel them??

North Korea? 🤔

lol a school or parent thinking they can ban a child having a smart phone till year 12.

The school popo officer going to come inspect your house 🤣🤣

I'd expect it to be close to 100% yes. I'm shocked you're shocked.

They are obviously not enforceable legal contracts 😅. It’s the same as the “school computer use policy” and the “behaviour code”.

They just get them to sign it so that they feel like they are accountable.

The three schools that most of the kids I know are all in the same small academy trust so I guess that’s why. I didn’t realise it was such an uncommon policy.

A decent percentage will have parental control apps installed to limit screen time and restrict what they can access.
My eldest 'has a smart phone', the reality is they get 20min a day and can only access messages, calls, and the school apps like the homework one. They can't even browse the internet on it without me unlocking that function.

Same here!
As well as behaviour through an app, Google classroom and tracking back and forth to school for an hour each day.
It would be very difficult to manage without one.

she’s really not arsed about using it by the time she gets home

It’s one of those just because it’s a contract doesn’t make it enforceable or legal.

laughable that they don’t want smart phones but still want to use online tech for homework. Pot kettle. They need to get back to the olden paper days with their brick phones.

12 is secondary school age though, travelling alone, bus tickets and travel updates on apps, homework etc on apps

My DD isn't allowed her phone out in school (must be switched off in bag) but has it for the way to and from school

Oh wait are you in one of those areas with the big academy chains owning all the schools ? With the move to large areas having education provided by companies who can set rules like this, irs the sort of thing we’ll have to get used to.

I think a phone for secondary school is very commonly mentioned on here as the time they got their child one. So while I might not have guessed 97%, I'm not surprised it's high.

Unless your child is at a traditional boarding school, I don't believe you.

Also it’s heavily policed so she’s only allowed WhatsApp but monitor or anything. Don’t allow whole year group chats either, just talking with friends and screen limiters.
Maybe I’m strict… I don’t know any of her friends without a smart phone tho so I would believe that statistic