To think all schools should ban the use of smartphones entirely during school day?

[90sseemedsomucheasier]

I would welcome a ban on smartphones in my child’s secondary school.

At present, in my child’s school they are allowed to take them in, but the rule is that they are to be kept at in their bags and not be seen at all. I think they get a couple of behaviour points if seen, and if seen for a third time then it is confiscated.

I know that, had smartphones existed when I was in school, I would have been a master a checking it without getting caught. I would have been on social media, messaging my friends, secretly listening to music with one AirPod under my hair, looking up answers to questions I didn’t know. I’d have never got in trouble because I would have been stealth like in my use of it. But it would have distracted me, it would have called out to me all day. I’d be waiting for my next check of it and thinking about it. I would therefore not have worked as hard, or chatted to friends as much. It would have fed me a horrible narrative about what I should look like, what my life should be like, how everyone appeared better than me and I’d be full of anxiety and not feel good enough.

This is what is happening to our children today. They don’t have the strength to stay away from them - they may not be seen doing it but they are constantly on them. Even the best behaved kids.

Even if teachers do notice a child having a quick look at their phone, they’ve got so much other stuff to do with the demands of their job - are they going to challenge the child and make more work for themselves or are they going to pretend they haven’t seen it.

Children take secret photos and videos and send them to one another to ridicule and bully. Inappropriate contest is airdropped and shared via WhatsApp groups.

As a parent, I am on it with internet safety (as is dh). We use parental control tools and my year 7 child is not allowed social media,free access to the internet and we monitor their use of their phone each evening. There are screen time limits and phone switches of at 7pm and is not allowed in bedroom.

I often feel like we are going against the grain in doing this. I feel alone and like other parents don’t see the issue with handing our children a device where they can access ANYTHING and absolutely will access anything because they are naturally curious. Curiosity is normal, but the level of information, the horrors, the ideologies and the algorithms that form as a result are not. They are extremely damaging.

I know, when I look online (I know, the irony) that there are other parents that feel the same way. But it is hard in real life. When you’re child goes to secondary school and makes new friends who went to a different primary you have no idea what their parents, and their parenting choices, are like.

Whilst I know my child is safe online in my home, I don’t know when I send them out to school. They can be exposed to all sorts of horrors / porn / ideologies because other parents send their child to school with unrestricted smartphones, whether that is because they don’t understand the dangers, or simply do not care.

do any other parents agree with me that schools should be made to ban smartphones entirely? And by ban I mean asking students to hand them in - either a locker or a faraday pouch on arrival. I get that they are a part of life and needed for safety on journey to and from school (although I would argue that for many they don’t actually even need it for that!). But during school hours they simply do not need them and should not have access to them.

This has been rolled out in some schools already and the benefits are already being seen. I would welcome it in a heartbeat if my child’s school did this!!

What do you think? Would really love to hear people’s opinions -

YABU - children should be allowed access to their phones throughout the school day

YANBU - all schools should ban smartphone access on school sites entirely by asking students to leave them at home, place them in a phone locker or in a faraday pouch

"do any other parents agree with me that schools should be made to ban smartphones entirely?"

As a parent and a teacher no I don't. Whilst I don't disagree that kids need protecting from lots of aspects of the internet I don't believe it is my job as a teacher to be the bad guy if you've chosen to be popular with your child and let them have a smart phone . If you feel so strongly then you shouldn't have bought them one. It is virtually impossible to police what children bring into school without some sort of compulsory airport style security on entry. Smart phones are here and they aren't going anywhere, we need to teach and model responsible use of them and the governmentneed to legislate so online platforms have more responsibility to keep kids safe. Give your child an old school mobile, the worst they can do is text their mates....which is no different from when we used to write little notes in class back when I was growing up.

I find that at a really bizarre response from a teacher.

They’re a massive safeguarding problem.

I do all those things you’ve suggested as a parent. Many other parents do not.

It is not wanting to “not be the bad guy” and for parents to have the responsibility removed. I am very much the bad guy with my child at the moment, and I’m ok with that because I know one day they will understand.

This is about a huge problem and asking schools to be supportive and uphold the message. It’s also about safeguarding children at school, and teachers like you.

I meant on the way to and from school or at other times? For those parents committing to no phone for under 14s at all?

Phones are useful. Being able to phone and message our children is a great way to safeguard them.

Smartphones are a safeguarding nightmare and a huge distraction.

@90sseemedsomucheasier at present insulin pumps and monitoring via a smartphone and bluetooth technology is considered the best way to control T1 diabetes. Of course this might change, there have been dramatic improvements in monitoring and control over the past 50 years. But my DCs are not going to be using a sub-optimal method of managing their chronic, potentially life-threatening, medical condition because the tech they have been advised by their consultants to employ can be misused.

Fortunately it's a non-issue as T1 diabetes is generally covered by the 2010 Equality Act as a disability so not allowing pupils to use smartphones in this way would be illegal. Outwith a change in government policy, this takes precedence over a school or MAT's rules and they are obliged to abide by the law.

Honestly, it’s been said several times, but this thread is not about taking away life saving medical devices from children that need them. That’s ludicrous.

It is about minimising the dangers of smartphones during the school day.

As I’ve already said, my childs school enforce the rules around phones consistently, which I fully support. I’m not against there being any rules.

If a child is seen using their phone, it is immediately taken off them and they have to collect it at the end of the day. If they are caught using it again during the same term, they have to hand it in every morning and collect it after school a period of time. I can’t remember how long but it’s weeks. They also get a detention.

It works very well at my child’s school. My child says that most children do not risk using their phones and it’s the same few who do.

An intriguing response from a teacher. I assume you teach secondary? Have you never had a child film a teacher? Have you never had fights set up via messages?

I teach in a school were we confiscate all phones/earbuds that we see out, and if they refuse to hand them over they get a day exclusion.

Yes school need to teach responsible use of phones but kids also need to learn to manage without them. So many jobs mean you can't use your phone. If they can't manage 6 hours without a phone then that's quite sad to be honest.

We took a Y7 trip for a week and banned phones. We told them we would search bags and any phones found would get them sent home. The kids had such an amazing time without them. They talked to each other. They played games. They had a laugh! By the end of the week they were actually much happier and weren't so fussed about getting phones back.

This response is so naive. It would be lovely if everyone gave dumb phones to under 16s, but that’s not where we are is it. And in the meantime what about the parents/children who haven’t given a smartphone but are exposed to everyone else’s at school?

The government aren’t going to protect anyone from these platforms any time soon, they’re way behind the curve and always will be, and teaching responsible use of them either isn’t working (they’re too addictive) or isn’t happening.

The threat of bag searches and your phone being confiscated for up to a week worked at DT’s school. Parents and pupils also had to sign at the start of each term that they agreed to the policy

I wonder what that school is like generally then, because that wouldn't wash at some schools where I've taught.

Policy was supported by parents - as it was the parents who had to go into the school at the end of the week to retrieve the confiscated phone. Compliance was excellent.

It's also been said several times on this thread that some PPs can't see any reason for an exception, or that T1 diabetics should use alternative methods to manage their condition which don't involve smartphones.

As long as posters say things like that, I am going to keep posting to explain why a) my DCs are going to be using what their consultants recommend regardless of school rules and that b) schools need to be aware of their legal obligations.

I would imagine that the schools are aware of their legal obligations.
I presume that currently most schools have some kind of policy of no smartphone use in class and that T1 diabetes children are already given an exemption, ie. they can use their smartphone in class to check their readings whenever they need to.
That exemption would continue if smartphones were to be completely banned. Children with a medical condition requiring use of a smartphone to monitor said condition would be exempt from the ban. There's no way a school would ban this use.
The law in Austria banning smartphone use from 1st May this year specifically says that there are to be exemptions for children with medical conditions which require smartphone use.
The same could be applied in the UK.

It would increase workload. Every child would have something to say. Endless conversations. Parents complaining. Resistance. Logging resistance. Plus, starting the day with conflict.

Also, like I'm up to my maximum allocation. There's no more directed time. I start when form starts. When exactly would I be collecting these phones?

Yes, we could just refuse entry to those who are unwilling to leave contraband at home. A 24 hour suspension.

This isn't a school problem, this is a parental problem. You can't solve parental problems by pushing responsibility onto teachers. The obvious logical flaw in your argument is that if mobile phones aren't safe, then they're not safe anywhere, including at home. Who's policing it then?

Parents who want their children to have smartphone at school can send their children to a school that allows them.

Eton is banking smart phones and giving pupils Nokias instead.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/theres-a-reason-eton-is-cracking-down-on-smartphones/

I haven’t seen anyone say that anywhere in the thread. Anywhere.

Schools have a legal obligation to provide their pupils with a good obligation. This is being hindered by kids taking in smartphones. Ergo, they should be banned. No exceptions. Diabetic kids managed before smartphones, they can do so again.

I take that back. I have now 🤣

Ours has just banned them entirely. Have to hand them in at the beginning of the school day, kept in a classroom safe and then handed back at the end of the day.

there was a lot of protest at first and resistance but seems to have settled down now.

interestingly though it still hasn’t stopped the bad behaviour, lesson behaviour is still not great and the kids are bored with no phones at lunch.

But it’s early days so time willl tell.

it has stopped the incessant messaging that dd3 (nearly 15, ) was doing to me.. over everything, she wasn’t happy, had a row with friends, wanting to come home, she wasn’t happy bored in class, could I pick her up. , she’d spam me constantly and it made me ill with stress .none of that now, she seems happier,n she’s learnt some resilience and solved some problems herself.

Diabetic kids managed before smartphones, they can do so again.

They are in a category of their own and don’t come into this question.

Lots of school work is accessed online - my kids get school notices via app. Not every child has access to laptop. Provide every child with a tool to access internet and school work- no need for smartphones in schools- and unlimited data on said device.

I'm In Melbourne and it was bliss when the state government issued a ban on phones. It meant the grief was directed at them, not the teachers. Phones at my state school were turned off and students put them in their locker for the day.

For context, the students didn't carry bags around, just the materials for their lesson. All students brought their own laptop or tablet, all adjusted by the IT crowd to limit access while in the building.

A crucial difference here is that bar welfare cases, all parents provide all equipment for their child, and every student has a locker.