Around 35,000 pupils across 42 state schools in England will have their access to smartphones phased out during the school day by Ormiston Academies Trust, one of England’s largest school academy trusts. The trust has confirmed that phones are being banned due to negative impacts on teaching and learning, behaviour and children’s mental health. The Department for Education updated its advice in July to allow school leaders in England to ban mobile phones during the school day.
The new measures are being put in place across all Ormiston schools, including six primaries and 32 secondaries, spanning from Cheshire to the Isle of Wight. Eight of its secondary schools have piloted different approaches to the policy for the autumn term after consultation with parents, with one institution going phone-free, which has been reportedly popular with both parents and students. Access to phones is already prohibited at the trust’s primary, special needs and alternative provision schools.
Tom Rees, Ormiston’s CEO, emphasised that smartphones had disrupted students’ learning and wellbeing, and suggested that there was a clear correlation between phone use and concerns over mental health. According to Tom Bennett, the behaviour advisor for the Department for Education, schools that have implemented similar policies in the past have not had much enforcement. He suggests that a blanket ban would remove peer pressure and allow students to get used to it. In May, a committee of MPs outlined the serious dangers posed to children online and urged the government to consider proposals to ban smartphones under 16.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is not in favour of banning phones for under-16s, but he argues that there is a serious question to be asked about what children can access. Meanwhile, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has told the BBC he is looking closely at the impact of an upcoming Australian ban on social media for all under-16s. The Australian government has promised to enforce a minimum age for children to access social media by introducing legislation later this year
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