KGS Phone Policy - has it changed?

[todayortomorrow]

With the recent guidance from the government, has the KGS (Kingston Grammar) policy on phone usage changed? It sounds like a great school but the free usage of phones at school is a deal-breaker for us. Thanks

This was discussed at their offer holders morning. Phones are not freely used at all. They say they trust the children to follow the policy while having the phones in their bags (rather than having to hand them in). They say it works well and children know they are only allowed to use it in specific cases with permission from the teacher (for example, to contact a parent about pickup arrangements or to look up something like their timetable etc). They are not supposed to scroll their phones etc during lunch breaks. I asked a few children during the tours and they all said they don't use their phones and know what it is and isn't for during the day. It's a bit more liberal than other schools but they approach it saying they trust the children to be mature enough to use them responsibly and in their experience it works.

I have a DS there and he says they still use phones all the time, particularly in break times. I think it’s really sad and it’s definitely a drawback of the school.

Both my DCs have very strict phone policies now ( locked up etc). Before their schools did that they were meant to keep them in bags and lockers, never use them etc. Of course they all did, tik toks in the cloakroom, selfies in the classrooms at break etc. (girls in particular..) I genuinely don't think they can ever be trusted to adhere to the rules.

@todayortomorrow when I went on the open day tour I was quite shocked to see a girl scrolling on social media on her phone in the library and she seemed completely unperturbed by the adult visitors standing alongside her. At the time, I thought she was probably breaking school rules. It never occured to me that the children were actually allowed their phones during the school day. I don't think young teens have the ability to self regulate in this regard. This was last year, so I am not sure if it has changed since.

Thanks all. Completely agree that they can't self-regulate - adults can't! Interesting to see if the policy changes

The SEND tribunal link to the disability discrimination case: https://www.gov.uk/administrative-appeals-tribunal-decisions

The policy has now changed. Phones are now restricted through the school day.

Basically years 7-9 phones off/in bags all day. Older than that can have them break and lunch. Clear sanctions for breaking policy. New policy was launched about a month ago.