Should We Allow Phones in School Phones Should Be Banned in School
Mobile phones could be banned from schools in England as part of plans to promote 'calm classrooms'.
The ban, along with other measures, will be considered as part of a consultation on behaviour and discipline in schools.
Launching the six-week consultation this week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he wants to make the school day mobile-free, describing the devices as 'not just distracting' but also potentially 'damaging' when misused.
The consultation, launched on Tuesday, will seek the views of teachers, parents and other staff on how to manage good behaviour.
READ MORE: Parents and school leaders warn of summer term 'write off' if class isolation rules aren't scrapped now
But critics have accused the government of 'playing to backbenchers', with Association of School and College Leaders' (ASCL) general secretary Geoff Barton saying they should be concentrating on the disruption Covid cases and isolations are still bringing to schools and colleges - and putting together a proper recovery plan.
With thousands of schoolchildren now isolating across Greater Manchester, we reported earlier today how parents and school leaders are warning that the summer term will be a 'write off' if class isolation rules aren't scrapped now.
Ministers are suggesting they'll be changed by the autumn, but families and education bosses in Greater Manchester - which is being hardest hit by bubble closures - say immediate intervention is needed.
The government's consultation comes ahead of planned updates to its guidance later this year on behaviour, discipline, suspensions and permanent exclusions.
The Department for Education (DfE) has already announced details of its £10 million 'behaviour hub' programme.
Headteachers and behaviour specialists from 22 'lead schools' and two academy chains with strong reputations for behaviour are mentoring and supporting schools struggling with poor discipline as part of the scheme.
The chosen schools are advising on a variety of issues – ranging from setting clear expectations to eliminate low-level disruption in classrooms, to more systematic approaches to maintaining order across the school, including forbidding the use of mobile phones and maintaining quiet corridors.
Do you think mobile phones should be banned in schools? Does your school already ban them during the school day? Let us know in the comments here.
As part of the consultation, respondents will be asked how schools' behaviour policies and approaches have changed amid the pandemic and what successful practices they intend to keep up.
Mr Williamson said: "No parent wants to send their child to a school where poor behaviour is rife. Every school should be a safe place that allows young people to thrive and teachers to excel.
"Mobile phones are not just distracting, but when misused or overused, they can have a damaging effect on a pupil's mental health and well-being. I want to put an end to this, making the school day mobile-free.
"In order for us to help pupils overcome the challenges from the pandemic and level up opportunity for all young people, we need to ensure they can benefit from calm classrooms which support them to thrive."
Mr Barton said: "The Education Secretary appears to be obsessed with the subject of mobile phones in schools. In reality, every school will already have a robust policy on the use of mobile phones; it isn't some sort of digital free-for-all.
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"Approaches will vary between settings and contexts, but this is an operational decision for schools, not something that can be micromanaged from Westminster.
"Frankly, school and college leaders would prefer the Education Secretary to be delivering an ambitious post-pandemic recovery plan and setting out how he intends to minimise educational disruption next term, rather than playing to backbenchers on the subject of behaviour."
Sarah Hannafin, senior policy advisor for school leaders' union NAHT, added: "Mobile phone bans work for some schools but there isn't one policy that will work for all schools.
"Outright banning mobile phones can cause more problems than it solves, driving phone use 'underground' and making problems less visible and obvious for schools to tackle."
Should We Allow Phones in School Phones Should Be Banned in School
Source: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/mobile-phones-could-banned-schools-20932321
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