A policy that resonates
The Government is opposing this for opposition sake.
There’s a policy that is popular with 80% of a key demographic of people. So why wouldn’t you support it?
It’s been baffling to me that rather than embrace smartphone free schools, the Government - specifically the Secretary of State for Education - believes that it is “a headline-grabbing gimmick”. Perhaps they have forgotten they are in charge, and not the governing party?
Laura Trott, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, has been championing this cause in the Chamber, but her calls for smartphone free schools were rejected. And her colleagues took an amendment to Committee to put smartphone free schools guidance on a statutory footing, yet the Government blocked it.
There is clearly a movement around this. 80% of Kent parents support a meaningful ban on smartphones in schools. The lowest amount of support for this policy in any district is still 71%.
According to my Youth and Parent Surveys, held at the end of last year, nearly 34% of primary children and 29% of secondary pupils have been bullied or picked on online.
What’s more 16% of secondary students and 14% of primary children admitted they had bullied, picked on or been mean to someone else online. When I asked this question in 2023 only 11.5% of youngsters said they’d done this.
Of those who’d been bullied only 46% of secondary students and 57% of primary pupils told their parents or guardians: 30% of secondary and 21% of primary children said they’d hadn’t told anyone.
This contradicts what parents said with only about 20% of parents believing their child has been bullied or picked on online, and 86% of the adults thinking their child had told them about the incident.
What’s more 16% of secondary students and 14% of primary children admitted they had bullied or picked on or been mean to someone else online. When we asked this question in 2023 only 11.5% of youngsters said they’d done this.
When I asked whether the youngsters stopped using the platform on which they’d been bullied or picked on, nearly a quarter of parents believe they did, whereas 90% of primary and 85% of secondary students told us they continue to use the apps.
Young people told me they’re on their devices about an hour longer each day than their parents believe. More than 20% of them are online before 7am and 10% of primary and 21% of secondary students online after 11pm.
Over 60% of children reported bans or restrictions by their schools, with many schools now only allowing pupils to use their devices at break times.
However, support for such a policy differs greatly between parents and children. 80% of parents say they’d support a ban if it improved behaviour or results, whereas only 30% of secondary and 56% of primary pupils said the same. We also asked secondary pupils whether they thought social media had made their life better or worse and most (56%) said it had done neither, with just over 10% saying it had made their lives worse.
On the whole parents told me they are monitoring at least some of their child’s online behaviour, with only 3% placing no restrictions. 28% of parents admitted they didn’t know everything about their online activities, but the young people’s answers suggest they do keep their parents quite well informed and just a small percentage are deliberately hiding things from them (4% of secondary and 5.5% of primary).
It is more important now than ever that we talk about the problems that social media, smartphones and online bullying are causing to young people. We need to support schools in implementing smartphone policies in schools but also educate parents about the risks of giving them to their children whilst they are still too young.
I will continue to raise awareness of this problem with pupils, parents and teachers, and call on social media companies and smartphone manufacturers to act more ethically in dealing with this – or face tougher legislation.
I Personally feel that mobile phone usage in school is a distraction for learning. However, if children do rely on their phone for a valid medical reason then that would be permissible. Mobile phone usage at school, is not just being used in their breaks and i often thought that schools could provide lockable stations which housed phones until school finishes. These could be QR coded and secure. I believe this is the only way to have a policy that creates a level of autonomy and responsibility for the children/pupil and parents. It will most definitely provide certainty for teachers and a sense of relief regarding teaching a class and gaining pupil attention. It is without a doubt that if children/pupils have a mobile phone they will be looking at them. It must be such a struggle for any teacher in the current situation. If the Government won't ban them, then there needs to be funding given for the provision of modern lockers which can house individual phones, where they can be released via an electronic QR code, or something similar, so they can take them with them after school. We are entering the most technological era ever. I believe there is a solution to this.
There are a number of children who rely on their mobile phone for health purposes. Most diabetics now use Continuous Glucose Monitoring via an app which connects with their NHS team and also their parents to know when blood sugars are going too high or too low. I use one and it is linked to my Husband and my GP Diabetes Nurse