To feel relieved the school has now completely banned phones

[Eastie77Returns]

DD’s school has completely banned phones for all incoming Y7 pupils and this will last for the entirety of their time at the school going toward. Existing pupils are still allowed to bring phones in but have to keep to the old rule (if they are seen or heard they are confiscated for 20 days).

DD is Y9 so she will be able to follow the old rule but DS, who starts secondary next year, will not be able to take one in. I honestly feel a massive sense of relief. He doesn’t have a phone at the moment and I was planning to get him an old style Nokia as he isn’t bothered about tech or latest phones. However I was a bit worried that he’d feel left if all his friends had iPhones etc. The school seems pretty serious about it all, all pupils and parents have to sign an agreement and any child caught with a phone will be excluded - no questions asked. The mother of DS’ best friend has now decided she will not send her DS to the school as originally planned as she thinks the ban is reckless and dangerous?! AIBU to think the ban is fine and makes complete sense plus millions of children managed to get to and from school safely without phones a generation ago!

I don't get it either, the crazy thing is we can't be far off the second generation to grow up with phones.
Those parents are going to be even less likely to support blanket phone bans than the older generation who didn't.

I asked on a previous thread when did phones become the norm for teens, the answer was early 2000s.
Those kids will now be mid 30s, some will have secondary aged kids.

Such a good point re. ringing 999 👏. I hadn't thought of that, but you're absolutely right, needing to call because of being a victim of or witness to an unfolding emergency is SO important

One of my kids had a Biff n Chip book with a tale of vandalised phone boxes, it seemed dated 10 years ago.
I couldn't think where our nearest was never-mind the second or third nearest

I am also surprised by the posters who want to make all kids travel independently without access to any type of phone. I've never met anyone who holds that view IRL.

That’s why these very unbalanced threads seem amiss.

I’m from the pre mobile phone era. Hell would still freeze over before I could agree to this school’s policy. Did they do any consultation to inform their decision to retain the policy for existing children?

There were no phones in DCs primary school - there was no need as children were dropped off and collected. Most didn’t have phones either. Children who were independent travellers were allowed a mobile of course - these were given in to the office at the start of the day and collected at home time. I think the primary school would have been bewildered if a parent suggested all independent travellers should not be able to take a phone. I suppose the school may have explained that a phone wasn’t compulsory if their child didn’t want one, but would be hard pushed to comprehend why a parent would want another person’s child denied one.

We had a phone box in school and lots around. These gave me more freedom. I wasn’t allowed to disappear for hours without my parents having a clue where I was. None of my friends were either. I understand for others, it may have been different.

If a person is genuinely lucky enough to not have a single instance in their life where a mobile would have helped theirs or another’s safety, that’s great, but rare. I just don’t buy the over the top faux ignorance of why a phone could ever be needed for help - it’s too exaggerated. Anyone who really can’t fathom one should get off social media as it’s fried their brain. I also don’t buy the faux belief that if you have a phone you think it’s the only method you can employ to help you in an unsafe situation. It is one of a suite of measures, but an important one.

I know that it can be hard to say no to children, especially when their friends are doing the thing you are saying no to, but it’s part of being a parent. If you don’t want your child to have a phone to travel, don’t give them a phone!

What happens if kids are making their way to and from sports trainings before and after school and might need a phone to update a parent, check a bus time etc? What about kids who might go between homes during the week - do they just have to live without a phone at all?

My children need their phones to communicate with parents, coaches and teachers, check timetables, meeting requests, bus times etc.

Rather than an outright ban, it’d be better to teach kids how to manage their phone use. If children are using their phone at school when they shouldn’t be then absolutely it should be confiscated or whatever, but we’re not living in the 70s/80s/90s anymore when it was entirely normal and possible to go about your day without a phone.

Exactly!

YANBU, it wouldn’t surprise me if more schools follow suit as it now falls under the Ofsted framework.

Well let’s say for argument’s sake that I did object. What difference would that make? Do you think the school would change its policy because I’m unhappy with it? Schools don’t tend to work that way😬

Kids were locked in a school store cupboard for hours. I can’t 🤣🤣

If your DD told you that and you believed it then trust me, I am not the weak parent here.

Schools seem to have become very draconian.
I'm not convinced that any of it will be making Schools better or be actually improving results.

I bet lots of the teachers can hardly remember life without mobiles.

More draconian than when though?
You can see on this thread how parents objective to rules being enforced. So what are schools supposed to do?
When I was at school, parents were ashamed if their child was sent to isolation or was suspended. Now they complain to the school and expect no consequences.

My understanding is it is quite clear that kids having access to mobiles in school is a bad thing, from disrupting lessons, bullying and just not developing communication skills.
Plus in certain areas potential mugging risks.

Schools have tried 'off in bags' but too many flout it.

So now they have 2 choices

• complete ban
• expensive and time taking locking systems (and you hear of children flouting this by having 2 phones)

If my DC were still in school I'd prefer the locking system, but I can see why some schools don't want to do this.

However I do think that travel methods/distances and lack of call boxes, and modern ways of thinking mean that many parents will not be happy with outright bans.

I think also that this ship has sailed and they can spend their time more productively. Social media like Snapchat can be a menace, relying on phones for teaching is problematic (though not sure necessarily any worse really than the iPads they all get in p6) and being rude / cheeky / whatever to teachers or other students should be more of a serious issue than it is. I am sure every single teacher has a phone on them because that’s just how modern society works.

That's a pretty defeatist attitude. Have you spoken to the other parents? What do they think about it?

Is there not a board or governors or an opportunity for parents for have a say on school polices? It’s a school, not a dictatorship!

‘School’ doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Parental views are taken into account and if lots of parents think the same thing, they’ll review their policies. Obviously it’s possible to change a policy as they just did it!

Thats so horrible, your daughter must’ve been absolutely terrified! I’m so sorry she experienced that. This is why phones should be allowed, we live in an awful world and anything can happen.

I agree with you on that part too, my girls know the consequences of using the phones in class.

they also had a lock down last year where all the kids were locked in their classroom store cupboards for hours

This is priceless, even better than teachers chasing after pupils to snatch phones and being expelled, no questions asked, if found with one

I think it's a good thing to ban them and there's good reason to do it. they've tried the phones at school and it just hasn't worked out

I'm thankful that I raised both of my children before mobile phones were a thing

I never once had to call home for anything my entire School career

It does seem very arbitrary, doesn't it - even gaslighty? When a child is off school because they're sick, you get all of the grief from the 'attendance team' and patronising rhetoric about 'every second of their education is crucial'; along with PA awards and treats as a reward for not having been sick, disabled or having a medical condition all year (or for going in when you shouldn't and infecting everybody else)... but when it comes to their own little hobby horses, suddenly it's fine to miss a day's education for no actual reason.

I'm not saying for a moment that inappropriate phone use shouldn't be clamped down on in schools - with phones taken and locked away for the day from those who refuse to stop; but this is going about it all wrongly.

It wouldn't be for no reason. If would be for disregarding school rules.
Parents need to ensure their children can behave and stop placing the entire burden on schools. Why should schools have to waste time giving kids warnings, and locking phones away? Which member of staff do you suppose should have to take time out of their day to deal with confiscated phones? Where is the budget for this time and space coming from?

And of those very, very few phone boxes that do still exist, how many of them will have working phones inside - for those who have enough cash or a card on them to be able to actually use it?

Of the remaining phone boxes that there are, the vast majority are now either community libraries, honesty-based cake/produce shops, village planters, unofficial urinals or just empty, useless tiny rooms.

I was in north Norfolk on holiday a couple of weeks ago. There's a place just outside Cromer that sells large ornaments, vintage fixtures and 'curios' for gardens, and as we drove by, I noticed three old red phone boxes amongst their display, waiting to be bought... and in our whole week driving around the area, I think they were the only phone boxes that I ever actually saw.

👏