Smart watches in high school

[SunshineandShowers000]

Looking for some insight on smart watches at high school please! Dd1 is about to start y7 and I know some of the high school kids wear smart watches to school. The school has rules around mobile phone use (not allowed in school) but nothing on smart watches. How does this work in practice in schools? I'm surprised that devices that allow messaging and taking photos would be allowed.

read the policy.
they are all different.

dc school allows them but not during tests/exams.
if they make any noise during lessons they are confiscated. 3rd strike a parent has to pick it up at school.

Smart watches aren't allowed at my DC's school. They have also changed their mobile phone policy and phones are not to be seen/out/used whilst on school premises- they are confiscated if seen and they can collect at the end of the day.

In my experience they are treated the same as phones and depending on the policy have to be off and away in a bag.

Schools vary. From a safeguarding point of view if you are buying something new, I would get one without a camera as that would definately cause issues in schools that generally allow smart watches.

Tbh I'd think about why the child needs a smart watch? My eldest does - she has ADHD and her watch which is loaded with her timetable/teacher meetings etc keeps her in the right place at the right time through alarms (that vibrate/flash not ring) a technique she uses alot to manage herself. My youngest however does not need such intervention and therefore does not need a smart watch - as much as he'd like one to mess about with! It's also another liability / thing to loose in yr 7...

Thanks everyone. No mention at all in school policies, which is why I wondered if other schools were different. Dd doesn't have a smart watch (she'll wear her fitness tracker) but I'm anticipating this might come up when she starts school!

Not allowed at
Our school.

Generally they are allowed most of the time, as it's quite a difficult area to police. Most of the time, phone bans etc are not really about safeguarding, and I think at secondary you do have to accept that in the modern world, your child will be around devices that can take photographs- if not in school then certainly on the way too/from school at least.

Watches of any kind are not allowed in external exams (without special permission), smart watches are never allowed. Obviously this isn't a big concern in Y7, but worth bearing in mind.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl that makes sense, I can see how difficult it would be to police. Will be interesting to see if kids do use them to message during the school day (as phones have to be out of sight while they're in school) - I imagine there'll be pressure to have one if so.