Boarding schools and banning smart phones

[Schnoofard]

Does anyone know if other boarding schools plan on following Eton’s lead, and banning smart phones? I really don’t want to give one to my child before he’s at least 16 if not 18.

Charterhouse are.

Why would the schools position stop you from banning your child from having a phone?

Perhaps because it is useful if the same approach is taken at school and home?

Banning a phone at home could lead to more arguments if everyone else at school has one, whereas if they are banned at school too then everyone is in the same position.

Wouldn’t it be best to ask the boarding school that you will/are be using? It doesn’t really matter if every other school is banning them it only matters to you if yours are.

Some have graduated access whereby lower years get them back at weekends but given in at the end of the weekend and no phone during week. Upper years are given more freedom (sixth form) but as stated above, it is school dependent.

Do they allow tablets and non smart phones?

I think oundle have

St Swithun’s School becomes a smartphone free environment in years 7-11 | News | St Swithun’s School, Winchester
pouches and some evening time daily.

Oundle banned them seven years ago!

GildedRage thank you…that’s a school I was already considering so good to know

FlyHigh1 Do you know, is that a complete ban, are they not allowed on site?

I just googled Oundle's - Im sure for anyone else it can be easily found by typing in school keyword and "mobile phone" and seeing their policy.

Oundle's below.

"We have a robust and long-standing approach to mobile phones. Our focus is on fostering face-to-face interactions and reducing phone dependency while also recognising its benefits. Our approach consists of three key pillars: facilitating effective communication between pupils and parents, ensuring online safety to prevent abuse and bullying, and encouraging positive online behaviour. From First Form to Fourth Form, smartphones are not allowed; boarders hand in their “brick” phones during certain times. Fifth Form pupils can use smartphones but must leave them in the House during lesson time and boarders hand them in overnight. Sixth Formers can use smartphones but not during class or in public spaces. We always make sure that parents and children can communicate and support video calls for those without smartphones. While there will also be mixed views on this subject, in our experience the benefits of such an approach include increased face-to-face interactions, reduced time on social media, fewer opportunities for gaming, less phone dependency, better sleep, and reduced risk of online bullying."

Tachetastic Yes, exactly this.

EasternEnergiser Thanks, that’s great.

Sevenoaks have limited their hours of use for years 7-11, to in class educational use only at the direction of the teacher and no other times in the school day. Boarders have limited times in the evening and have to hand them in depending on age. Sixth form can only use them in social spaces (same rule on in class use as for younger children) not shared with other age groups. I think it's great personally.

I kind of get the sentiment but you’re already sending your dc to boarding school, now it reads like you want to go further in reducing how often the child can be in contact with you. Rich people are fascinating.

the smart phone effects on kids is very clear, there are plenty of ways boarding schools facilitate contact home, limited use of smart phones won’t reduce contact home. It in no way reads that the OP is trying to limit contact, only concerned re smart phone usage

Of course they can still talk to their parents outside the school day - what it really means is that the children have to interact with each other, rather than being glued to their phone screens like zombies, at lunch etc.

Yrs 7-11 has to hand them in, only allowed in evening till 9pm I think.
6th form have them in the day but have to hand them in at night if they’re boarding although there is flexibility if they need them for a good reason.

I would encourage anyone interested in learning about the effects of smart phones and social media on children and teens to read or listen to this book if you haven’t already:

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0CMV9BQ14?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=player_overflow

Bromsgrove have recently banned phones during the school day, certainly up to Year 11. I don’t know about the boarding side of things, but due to these other changes, they may well have reviewed phones in boarding houses too.

AFAIK only Eton and Oundle have banned them completely for certain years or all years (i.e. only a 'dumb' phone permitted on site). The majority of other schools have some limits (strictness school dependent), with some banning them for day students and allowing boarders an hour or two a day after hours, and slightly longer on Sundays. I like the limits and think it does encourage more social interaction and extra curricular participation. However, being realistic, even at Eton and Oundle, these kids still have smartphones and still use them at weekends, exeats and during the holidays to communicate with each other so it's not necessarily going to reduce pester power or eliminate the logistical difficulties of communicating with peers.

Ha ha, I went to one of the schools mentioned upthread and I can assure you that had smartphones been around back in the day, and had we had to hand them in to the housemistress in a pouch, then one of us per dorm would have made sure we had a 'spare' secreted somewhere. You are all so naive.

Can the kids have brick phones though? If my kid lived miles away from me, I would very much want them to be able to contact me each day if they needed to.

Yes- they can have phones but just not smartphones. They can still contact their parents every day if they want to.

@Hazel665 yeah that's always a risk but how prepared someone is to do it depends on the consequences of it getting found or you getting grassed up (pretty major where DS is and I believe at Eton it's suspension) so anyone with a spare phone would keep it v quiet. Plus at DS's school the wifi goes off at 9:30 and the school gets 1 bar of phone reception if you run up a hill so not much point. I think it's still worth restricting because phone use does become a social contagion - DS, to be fair to him, isn't bothered about phones if everyone else isn't on them, in which case, yeah, it's boring and he wants his. If not he'd rather do something IRL. They all go out and play football/ bulldog after prep or play cards/pool - if they were allowed phones I guarantee that wouldn't happen. I guess it's a case of accepting it's not a perfect system, but there's still a benefit to it.