Are there any parents out there who support smartphones in schools?

[LadyJos]

Just curious as all the dialogue out there seems to be about banning them.

Probably, because many of us had DC who went through school with smartphones allowed as long as switched off for lessons. The exception being the lessons where they were asked to photograph their science experiments.

Probably not. I certainly don't, as both a parent and a teacher. There are cases for having access before and after school, but the problems associated with controlling how they would be taken in and given back make a blanket "no" rule the more practical option.

I do. It was a lifeline for my autistic DC. He would send me loads of texts asking me how to navigate situations/where to go etc.

On the other hand, my dd got a dickpic. I mean - whatever, she can delete it. She values the phone for safety anyway. Her school buildings are not all in one contained compound, she is in the streets during the daytime.

I absolutely do. I wouldn’t send my DC to a school where they don’t allow them (or would put an emergency phone in their bag), because otherwise, they have no means to contact me without having to go through another adult.

I don’t think it’s acceptable to use them in lessons, and they should be on silent so as not to disturb anyone else. But as someone working in school, I would rather deal with the annoyance than the alternative of kids being cut off from the outside. So many things can go wrong- bullying, abuse from staff, panic attacks or mental health struggle, or even a wardrobe malfunction- and being able to contact their parents instead of a member of staff or classmate is, in my opinion, very important.

They can keep them in their bags turned off.

I support off and in bag rules.
I understand why many parents feel the need for them for the journey to and from school.
I don't think they should be used on lessons. But maybe support a place in school a child can go to use the phone in an emergency. Otherwise... turned off.

Yes, I currently have interaction with my autistic DD when she’s navigating difficult social situations or feeling particularly anxious or stressed. School simply cannot offer the level of support she needs, so it falls to me to offer it throughout the day. If we didn’t have direct communication, it’s likely she wouldn’t be able to attend.

I do.

We don’t live in a great area and my DD having a phone on her for the walk to and from school is important to me…and her.

The kids hand the phones in/turn them off and put them away once on school grounds. If they are seen or heard they get confiscated for 2 days then 3 days and so on, will only be handed back to a parent, absolutely fine with that.

Id certainly support them for children with type 1 diabetes. You can continuously glucose monitor using them which means they can literally be a lifeline.

(And yes you can say exceptions will be made but we all know that power can go to people's heads and it's hard to argue back that "you" are an exception. Knowledge of t1 / iddm is poor in the general population )

Wouldn't a normal basic phone facilitate your child sending texts though? Why does it need to be a smartphone?

Off in bags. I wouldn't have sent DS to school without one. They need to able to make contact with the outside world independently if needed.

I believe that some children with diabetes have their blood sugar monitored by smart phone plus bus companies issue digital passes these days.

If schools have a no smart phone rule then they need to revert to the way things were when we were teens- for example they need to allow kids to send an email or phone a parent during school hours to give messages that used to be solved by text.

Off and in bags is fine. My DD travels to and from school by train. The trains are regularly disrupted and we need a way to communicate with her when they are.

They don't need a smartphone to do that.

I think they needs to be a gradual relaxing over the course of high school to enable them to learn how to use them responsibly in the adult world. Most people use phones for work, university etc and I can’t see that complete prohibition is a good foundation to later appropriate use.

It was also used in other ways:

I could track him and see if he had got to the correct place at the correct time (often not)

I sent him photos of instructions or things that he needed to do, because his executive function was impaired.

He took photos of science practical work, he took photos of stuff that teachers had put on the board, he took photos of unfinished stuff.

It really did enable him to be successful at school.

Similar situation here too, my DD (awaiting diagnosis) struggles socially and messages me through the day for support that she doesn't get from school. She knows not to during lessons but at break/lunchtimes she does.

DD's dad, who was abusive to me but won 50/50 custody in court, tried to restrict her access to me which upset her greatly, but her having a phone means she can speak to me. She calls me when travelling to/from school some days knowing he's not around to tell her off for that. He also sends her to Rangers club alone so when she's coming back to his house at 9:30pm at night she can ring me while she walks so she's not alone. As none of this is seen as parental neglect in rhe eyes of family court this is how we manage it. None of these situations ever get considered when looking at a ban. Not all kids live in a happy little middle class bubble.

Absolutely this.

I can see the argument for not having them in primary, and not having them on during the day in pre-exam years.

But 16/17/18 year olds need some responsibility to use them properly.

Our school has just banned the use of phones on school premises, and they are not allowed to leave school premises during the day. I am really angry about it. It means if DS has a change of schedule (which happens often - an additional study session after school, a club changes day etc) he can’t contact us to change pickup time.

I also have no idea how that will work in practice during exam leave, when they are in and out of school to see teachers and coordinating that with us. Nor in 6th year, which is supposed to be a transition to uni with a more flexible timetable.

DD has hers switched off in her bag. Also ASD it’s a comfort to her.
Her art teacher allows them to use their phones in an after school club, to take photos, research as they are year 11 and she wants them to use them as a tool.

I’ve worked in schools and the biggest issues are lack of parental support, so when they are confiscated they think school is in the wrong. Parents who ring and text their children in school for no good reason. Most of the bullying/photos seems to happen outside of school where banning them wouldn’t help.

Dd is handed in when she gets to school but I do want it for to and from. It's a 2 ½ mile walk so I like being able to track her and she appreciates music.

Banning children from having mobiles is not practical with the lack of public telephones these days

I like the schools that collect phones or put them in a locked bag thing so you have them but do not use them.

DC's school had a phones off and in bag which meant Ds could sneakily text me that one time to tell me he had forgotten to bring in a book with his homework in and I did drop it into school for him. He was very worried about getting a negative mark in his planner, this was year 7.

Lots of children have money or bus passes on their phones, plus we shared locations so didn't have to worry if they were late but we could see they were making their way home. We had it automatically set to go onto silent mode for the school day and automatically back on so they did not need to be touching their phone at the school gates.

Sixth form was not attached to the school so then it was a you can use it on school grounds and no limits, just off whilst in class but no punishments if your phone binged. Just ignored.

I also work in a school and completely disagree. I can’t think of any situation where a pupil can’t ask an adult in school for help, probably quicker than phoning a parent who to be honest probably can’t do much anyway, particularly if they’re at work. I am a first aider and am very good at calming panic attacks, have dealt with some fairly serious mental health issues and have even found a sewing machine to repair torn trousers ! It’s good for pupils to be able to deal with these situations. And on the downside, I constantly have been sent pupils to first aid where it turns out there’s nothing actually wrong with them. And they’ve already called their parents. Can’t actually believe parents drop everything to collect . And a couple of times where pupils have called parents to collect and have then left the premises without telling anyone and we have no idea !

There's a growing body of evidence for the harm caused by early exposure to social media, inattentiveness and distraction from learning, increasing MH issues, exposure to violent porn and it's impact on relationships and self esteem, bullying and sexting etc.

Many of the needs around communication detailed by pps above could take place with non smart phones, and any ban can of course have exemptions for kids who have a medical or social need like diabetes or autism.

Here is a really compelling video outlining the evidence and making the argument as to how tech is negatively affecting kids in and outwith school - she sounds very posh but the content is very helpful in thinking about where we are headed as a society. It doesn't need to be like this. The more of us that say no, the more things will change, we don't need to get phones against our better judgment 'because that's how the world is now'. Doesn't have to be.

School use in the classroom fine, but no other classroom use, outside of the classroom i have no issue for older students to have them

I also work in a school and completely disagree. I can’t think of any situation where a pupil can’t ask an adult in school for help, probably quicker than phoning a parent who to be honest probably can’t do much anyway, particularly if they’re at work. I am a first aider and am very good at calming panic attacks, have dealt with some fairly serious mental health issues and have even found a sewing machine to repair torn trousers ! It’s good for pupils to be able to deal with these situations. And on the downside, I constantly have been sent pupils to first aid where it turns out there’s nothing actually wrong with them. And they’ve already called their parents. Can’t actually believe parents drop everything to collect . And a couple of times where pupils have called parents to collect and have then left the premises without telling anyone and we have no idea !

Yes, and in the big picture, it's not good for kids to get the underlying message that 'you can't cope without 24/7 access to your parents. Part of maturing is learning to get help in appropriate ways and how to be self sufficient. Well meaning parents are taking this confidence away from their teens. And don't get me started on tracking them...