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!

My DD’s will ALWAYS have a phone on them at school. The school turn a blind eye for me as they know they’d be up shit creek if I ever reported what happened to one of them. One of my DD’s went to pastoral 4 times extremely sick with very clear meningitis symptoms and got sent away. She ended up phoning me for help. When I picked her up we both got a bollocking from the school for her breaking the rules. I took her to a walk in centre who after one look at her face phoned an ambulance themselves, she got blue lighted to critical care where she remained for 6 weeks. Fuck any teacher who thinks they can take such a safety net away from my child. I’d rather homeschool them, she could have died!

I recall using a payphone but only to call friends in the evening if I didn’t want my parents to overhear our conversation! I never called school from a payphone(!) and can’t imagine my parents did either as we had a phone at home.

I think you live the sort of life where nothing happens.

My kids are busy going to different places.

It's not about worry - it's about getting to places and organising meet ups between people.

Oh it will be as Ofsted will come down on them like a ton of bricks.

State -funded schools in England are legally required to follow government guidance that makes the school day phone-free by default.
A law under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act came into force on June 29, 2026, giving legal force to these mobile phone restrictions.

And other schools are successfully managing with phones in bags. And others with lockers. And others with punches. And others with brick phone only policies.

We all live busy lives. Many many people manage. It’s not hard. We managed before for centuries.

Well so far they haven’t enforced it. I’m sure someone will share the videos with the school.

Yep. What shit parenting and we wonder why kids are anxious, entitled, have shit problem solving skills , have zero resilience and are badly behaved.

My granddaughter travels a few miles to school and uses the bus/train apps on her phone. A few times she has been completely stuck when the train she’s on has suddenly been stopped. She had to ring me to ‘rescue’ her as her mum is a teacher and doesn’t have immediate access to her phone once she’s at school!
Without a phone she would have been stuck several miles from home or unable to get to school.

She also rang me to ask what to do when she and a friend were being followed and shouted at by a man.

Maybe students don’t need phones in class but they should be able to take them to school. In her case phones have to be kept in lockers and any infringement leads to a day in isolation.

It doesn’t matter if people lived without phones before, we also lived without internet and yet here you are.
Dictating what teenagers can do on the way in and home from school is overreaching.
Off and in bags, in a locker, all reasonable rules, however banning them from bringing something in for use after school is not reasonable.

OP, why were you going to give your DS a phone?

What’s hard to understand?
I’m glad schools have banned phones because I wasn’t sure I would able to hold the line on a smartphone ban in my own home is basically the gist of your whole post.

Parents should be more worried about the constant barrage of media and communication their children are being exposed to. Support the schools and give them a breather from it all!

Because they don't all do what they are told! Don't base everyone on your child who I assume is well behaved?

No it isnt. Many parents don’t want phones in schools either. Many don’t want their kids filmed, bullied or disturbed in lessons. No need to have them in school at all and they shouldn’t be because many kids have mollycoddling parents who think they’re special and that kid should over ride rules. No phones, zero problems.

I bet if you explained your family's logistics it would be very simple. Because you seem to have no idea at all about public transport, rural journeys or schedule changes.

Exactly this! And we wonder where kids get it from.🙄

Actually the majority don't want smartphones used in schools, but do want their kids to have a phone when travelling.

Trust me I do. We live rurally with kids who travelled many miles to school and two full time working parents.

Nope many don’t. The bullying and filming happens as they leave school.

If parents backed schools up and reinforced existing restrictions at home, these bans wouldn't be necessary. Parents only have themselves to blame.

Then the school needs to address that behaviour, not penalise everyone who can follow instructions.

So when the train doesn't arrive, would you not go to get them?
You would just leave them there? Even if it meant they can't get to their job?

Batshit.

You're entitled to be any type of parent you want, but you don't have the right to stop me being able to collect my kid and help them get to work.

Or parents can discipline their own children? So that schools aren't having to waste time on this nonsense? If your child cant be trusted with a device at school, dont give them one!

Of course they can wait for the next train or get a bus ! What do you think we used to do?