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.

I think having the old style phones would be a good idea. They can make a phone call and send a text.

As a poster said, it’s the social media that’s harmful. I would support a ban of this for under 16s I’d even support a ban on Smart phones. If they all had a Nokia then you wouldn’t be the bad guy who only let them have a crap phone

You can’t compare catching buses now to catching them in the 80s/90s. they are a shitshow now.

and banning them in school doesn’t ban them outside of school. Even if you ban them for under 16 the parents will open accounts for them.
i remember taking DD to an 8th birthday party and the girl got a iPhone. A few weeks later the mum had a massive strop because everyone else wasn’t getting one.

This is similar for my DD. And her smart watch gets her to where she needs to be on time with the right kit... she'd be in a much bigger pickle without it.

My ds on the other hand doesn't need his. And probably would be better if it wasn't a thing in school.

To ban them just adds another level of difference/complexity for some SEND kids though...

yes me I was happy for DC to take their phones to secondary school

them having phones was especially useful when DC wanted to contact me to say they were asked to do a sports event or do something else at short notice so would be late home/need a lift. Or when DC forgot lunch or important item that I could go drop off at reception for them to collect.

The school receptionist & PE teacher & form tutors are all very busy and lack spare time to do that with-parent communication for many dozens of pupils every day.

They actually have relaunched a classic Nokia also nicknamed the detox phone. Very limited internet. Calls and Texts. It's pretty cool.

https://www.johnlewis.com/nokia-3210-feature-phone-64mb-ram-2-4-inch-4g-sim-free-128mb/gold/p112853183?s_ppc=2dx_mixed_technology_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiArKW-BhAzEiwAZhWsIMXLHNGc3AwWSQWYVF4TrS-GUshTmpFIMK5YvbxM_NYJkEToX9-tMhoCewsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thinking of getting one for myself to stop the mindless scrolling when I'm travelling / in bed.

Oh it is actually the 3210 they have relaunched. And a LOT cheaper than a smartphone.

I agree with the blanket ban on phones. I went to school when smartphones became popular and they caused all sorts of issues.

OP, you said you think your child should have a phone in a classroom during lessons because she needs to text her friend.

I don't know about naïve but you're certainly coming across as quite irresponsible. Are you a very young parent?

It’s a well known fact that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates did not allow their children access to IPhones and iPads. Or the access was heavily restricted.

It’s not the actual phones per se - it’s the access to social media, the addictive nature of them. The fact that we are all losing our ability to concentrate and focus. This is more profound on children’s brains that are not fully developed.

Of course Apple don’t give a shit about social media.

I’m starting to realise that it’s not the phones that are the problem but the lack of any control parents have over them.

We always locked the kids phones down, and then gradually loosened restrictions as they got older.

I am guessing a lot of people just had their kids a completely unrestricted phone then, given that by far the majority of the objection on this thread are actually objections to social media and not to the more useful aspects of the phone.

Maybe schools should bring in a mobile device management policy 😜Kids can have their phones, but the school will control the allowed apps and the settings.

100% a basic old phone with call function only and only preset phone numbers so just family contacts and emergency line only. That's what we plan to do with DC while they are young teens. I got a mobile at 17 and I think that is the perfect age. I was working for a year and saved up and thats what I want to teach my children. You can buy a fancy ohone with your hard earned cash. It is not a basic right for a child. It is a luxury item.

So is the ban pointless then?

I am happy for my girls' school to.allow them.

My girls use their phones for their bus pass, see where the bus is on the app, it has their school library card, lunch card and homework tracker, as well as the normal banking apps.

I also track their phones to see that they got on the bus and to school okay.

The horse has bolted, no going back now.

Rather than banning phones I'd much rather see Social Media banned for under 16s. And consequences for companies who don't check out the id of children.

I also think it's daft that parental controls can be turned off kids phones at just 13.

The horse has bolted, no going back now.

I understand this attitude but this apathy can be challenged, that's what the smartphone free movement is all about - parents finding out that there are many others that think like them and agreeing together to put limits on their kids' access to smartphones together, so that their kid isn't the only one.

I felt the same at one time but now seeing how many people want to push back, I don't think we just have to accept big tech deciding what our kids are exposed to as they grow.

Children need to be able to get intouch with parents. Things go wrong. Children don't always go home to the same home they left in the morning.

The other day there was a thread with a 12yo, no phone, no key, and the bus driver wouldn't let her on the bus going to school.
A friend got off the bus to help her out. But that's besides the point.

That kid would have been seriously stuck and no means to get intouch with anyone for help.

You're in denial.

You described a situation where a young person was in a difficult situation and then was able to find their way out of it with the help of a human.

That's literally what young people need to experience in order to grow into confident adults, able to cope with whatever the world throws at them, self confident and resilient.

The kid wouldn't have been stuck. They could have relied on friends. They could have asked a stranger for help. They could have walked.

This attitude that a kid would have been stuck is so, so damaging. You're literally telling a person they can't cope without a phone. They can. People can.

Of course they shouldn’t be leaving. But it’s confirmed that they have, and schools have a safeguarding responsibility which includes ensuring the security of the facility. Some young people with additional needs or developmental delay or emotional challenges are a flight risk - every school is required to have security systems in place that actually work to protect their students.

This is confusing - do schools actually have fences around them or similar where you live? Any school around me is just open and students come and go all the time. Not primary school of course but in high school students wander off and onto campus whenever they choose…

In what era were children contacting their parents during the school day? I grew up pre mobiles and the only reason to phone a parent was if you were ill or seriously misbehaving.

Yep, also grew up pre mobiles and I'm honestly not sure if I've ever used a pay phone in the UK. Phone charges were expensive back in the day!

But does it have Snake on it?!

Yep!!

Yes - fences or walls, intercom for reception, door locks controlled by the reception office. Alarms on fire escapes. SLT patrolling corridors. A bit prison like to be honest! No one can just wander in, and students can’t just walk out.

Only the grammar school which has it’s campus spread out along a road which involves crossing etc. But I’ve never heard of those students just leaving.

You couldn't just come and go as you pleased at DD's school unless you were a 6th former. I believe it is to do with safeguarding.

Are you in the UK?