Smartphone free schools: A growing movement to protect children
Over the past year, concerns have been mounting about the risks smartphones pose to children. In response, communities across the country are calling for genuinely smartphone-free schools. This means primary schools banning smartphones entirely - only allowing basic, non-internet mobile phones that are handed in during the school day - and secondary schools, at the very least, requiring smartphones to be securely stored and inaccessible to students. Some secondary schools are taking it further by not permitting smartphones onsite by pupils altogether.
Schools adopting stricter mobile phone policies report that the changes are widely welcomed by parents, and the benefits are effecting the whole school community.
One parent shared:
“We’re grateful to the school. We had been dreading the moment our child asked for a smartphone because ‘everyone else has one’. Now, with no peer pressure, our child doesn’t feel left out, and we feel relieved they won’t be exposed to anything inappropriate through someone else’s device.”
However, not all parents are on board. Some express concerns about losing the ability to contact and track their children. But campaigners from Smartphone Free Childhood and Delay Smartphones argue that simple non-internet phones which pose very little risk still exist and location tracking, while convenient for parents, does not necessarily improve safety. In fact, some location-sharing apps can be exploited by predators - if a parent can track a child, potentially so can someone else on internet enabled devices.
The risks of smartphones for children are well-documented. These devices can expose young users to explicit content, harmful social media trends, misinformation, online predators, and addictive algorithms designed to manipulate attention and behaviour. Increasingly, research is highlighting how social media platforms are exploiting children for profit.
There are growing calls for government action, including:
- Raising the digital age of consent from 13 to 16
- Launching public awareness campaigns on the physical and mental health impacts of unsupervised smartphone use by Health Professionals for Safer Screens
- Creating statutory mobile phone guidance for schools to better protect children
A petition to review the Department for Education’s current guidance on mobile phones in schools is gaining momentum. You can view and sign it here.
While the government has promised further research into the effects of smartphones and social media on children, campaigners - and a growing network of parents in Northamptonshire, are urging immediate action. They advocate applying the precautionary principle to protect children now, rather than waiting for years of more studies.
Parents in Northamptonshire can view how many others have signed the Smartphone-Free Childhood Parent Pact here:
Schools that have implemented smartphone-free policies are encouraged to add their names to the national list here:
Does your Northamptonshire school qualify as genuinely smartphone-free?
- Gold Standard: No smartphones allowed on-site
- Silver Standard: Smartphones must be handed in and locked away during the school day
- Bronze Standard: "Not to be used seen or heard" but left in the possession of pupils – policies which often fail to prevent problems before they arise
Let’s face it: passive policies that merely react to issues after they've occurred are simply not effective and do not prevent misuse in the first instance. Schools can’t be expected to police smartphones constantly. That’s why a strong, proactive policy is essential to better safe guard all school children.
We’d love to hear what your schools mobile phone policy is. Is it time for a review?