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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Primary school bans smartphones after 9,000 messages sent in just one night in children's WhatsApp group
A school has banned smartphones after a pupil's phone was found with 9,000 messages sent in just one night on a year's WhatsApp group. Children at Blackhorse Primary School in Bristol will no longer be allowed to bring smartphones to school after a debate around safety was sparked by the sheer number of notifications spotted on a pupil's screen by a teacher. In recent years, pupils have been allowed to bring smartphones to school, but had to hand them in to the teacher during lesson time. But around a year ago, a phone was accidentally left in the teacher's cupboard overnight - and was returned to the pupil the next day with 9,000 notifications of activity in a Year Six WhatsApp group. Shocked at the discovery, executive headteacher Simon Botten started a debate with parents on whether smartphones should be allowed in schools - and now pupils can't bring them in at all. Writing on his personal blog, Mr Botten said he had also been concerned at the risk of increased cyber-bullying and online predatory behaviour - and that the move had been broadly backed by parents. A similar ban at Blackhorse's sister school Emersons Green is also set to come into force but needs to be ratified by governors. Recent surveys have suggested more than two thirds of children spend more than two hours a day on electronic devices - with a minority spending more than six hours on screens. Mr Botten wrote of the Year Six pupil's phone: 'The teacher picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9,000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil WhatsApp group overnight. Nine thousand messages in a 15-hour overnight period. 'After nearly two decades in headship, I have watched this technological phenomenon unfold slowly. 'At first it was imperceptible: the odd argument via old-fashioned texts, the odd child seeing something online which they shouldn't (always at home). But over the years I have seen the risks grow ever more significant and ever more frequent.' He said these included rising cyberbullying on WhatsApp, inappropriate images being exchanged, a rise in hanging out online instead of outside and of children 'glued to their phones' once handed the devices back at the end of the day. He continued: 'And then something much darker. A rise in predatory strangers approaching children online in their bedrooms whilst their parents watch Eastenders downstairs. 'Near miss, after near miss. But, the thing is, if you have enough near misses - the chances of a collision rises to 100 per cent.' Groups of parents were set up to consult on the issue before a wider consultation on the possibility of an outright ban - the whole process taking around a year. Some parents were concerned about being able to contact their child. Mr Botten said the counter to this was to allow old-fashioned 'brick' mobiles capable only of texts and calls. Many schools, Blackhorse included, also digitally register pupils' attendance, which can be seen by parents via a mobile app. Schools still, of course, phone parents if pupils don't turn up for school as planned. Mr Botten, who has been a headteacher for almost 20 years, added that removing the need to collect smartphones by banning them altogether also eliminated the 'peer pressure' associated with having the latest gadget. Some pupils, he said, would show off their flashy phones in the playground before they were handed in ahead of class. Collecting the phones before class, he said, amounted to 'tacitly condon(ing)' smartphone ownership. The school also brought in specialists from the police to talk to parents about the dangers of children being unsupervised online. A survey conducted among parents showed 87 per cent at Blackhorse Primary were in favour of the outright ban, while parents at Emersons Green Primary were more split on the issue: 58 to 42 in favour of the ban. Governors at Blackhorse, spurred on by the poll, voted that the ban is to come into force in September. Governors at Emersons Green are yet to vote. Mr Botten accepts that research on how smartphones affect child development remains 'patchy' and tends to be skewed towards older teenagers rather than younger children. However, he said the ban was imposed on the grounds of what he and his staff were seeing in terms of 'safeguarding concerns and negative impact on mental health'. The ban, coming into effect in September, has had a positive reception. He concluded: 'Since announcing the result, I have had zero emails from parents complaining about the ban, whereas I have had a good many parents thank the school for taking a stand.' Speaking outside the school this week, parents welcomed the ban but others questioned the fact the school had previously encouraged children to buy smartphones. Lee Budd, father of Jonnie, eight, said: 'I don't think it's a bad idea at all. Phones consume attention.' A mother of a Year 5 student and a former Blackhorse pupil, now in Year 7 at another school, said: 'It was the school that encouraged us to get a phone for my Year 7 daughter so she could walk to school on her own. 'I feel neutral, really, but I don't see why they need to change the current rule of leaving the phone in a box at the start and end of the day.' A recent poll of children aged eight to 15 found that almost one in four spend more than four hours a day using a computer, phone, tablet or games console. Some 69 per cent of children spend more than two hours a day using electronic devices, while six per cent even said they use them more than six hours a day, the YouGov survey found. Labour recently blocked a proposal to ban the use of phones in schools by law - with the Prime Minister decrying it as 'completely unnecessary'. Sir Keir Starmer told PMQs in March that the 'vast majority' of schools already impose restrictions on smartphone use, including that attended by his children. Challenged by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, he said: 'We need to concentrate on what's really important here, which is getting to the content that children shouldn't be accessing. 'That's where I would genuinely like to work across the House because I think there's a huge amount of work to do. But the battle is not with schools that are already banning phones in school. 'The battle – and this is an important emerging battle – is to work together to ensure that we can ensure that the content that children are accessing wherever they are is suitable for their age.' It comes weeks after the Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, suggested that smartphone use among children should be restricted outside of school as well - suggesting general phone use is a wider issue among young people. 'If we are serious about helping children reap the many benefits of the internet, we need to get serious about regulating what they can see, where they see it and curbing the damage currently being wreaked on their health, attention span and safety by tech companies enjoying unlimited freedoms while refusing to take responsibility for the people on their platforms,' she said. Schools, she said, should be free to regulate as they see fit rather than following a 'direction imposed nationally by the government'. 'Schools are just one part of the solution,' Dame Rachel added. 'Parents and carers need support to become more confident managing their children's online activities and putting in age-appropriate boundaries - and above all, to talk and keep talking at home about what they see and how to respond.'
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- Scottish Sun
Staggering number of WhatsApps primary school pupil sent in single night revealed, sparking smartphone ban
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A YEAR 6 pupil racked up 9,000 WhatsApps in a single night — prompting their primary school to ban smartphones. The extreme messaging on the child's handset stoked online safety fears, leading parents to agree to a ban. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 A primary school pupil racked up 9,000 WhatsApps in a single night — prompting their school to ban smartphones (stock picture) Credit: Getty The pupil, aged ten or 11, had followed school rules by handing in their phone at the start of the day but forgot to collect it. When their teacher at Blackhorse Primary School in Bristol retrieved it, they saw the thousands of missed messages. Executive headteacher Simon Botten said: 'The teacher picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9,000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil WhatsApp group overnight. 'Nine thousand messages in a 15-hour overnight period.' Staff at the school were so shocked by the level of activity they started a consultation process over whether smartphones should be banned. Supporters pointed to a rise in cyber-bullying, growing phone obsession and predators online. When police were brought in to give a talk on sexual predators and crooks lurking online, shocked parents swung behind the idea — with nearly nine in ten voting in favour of the ban. Children will still be allowed to bring in brick phones for texts and calls only. Mr Botten hopes it will help parents delay buying smartphones and reduce peer pressure in the playground. He added: 'Parents massively overestimate dangers in the real world and massively underestimate dangers in the digital one.'
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Irish Sun
Staggering number of WhatsApps primary school pupil sent in single night revealed, sparking smartphone ban
A YEAR 6 pupil racked up 9,000 WhatsApps in a single night — prompting their primary school to ban smartphones. The extreme messaging on the child's handset stoked online safety fears, leading parents to agree to a ban. Advertisement 1 A primary school pupil racked up 9,000 WhatsApps in a single night — prompting their school to ban smartphones (stock picture) Credit: Getty The pupil, aged ten or 11, had followed school rules by handing in their phone at the start of the day but forgot to collect it. When their teacher at Blackhorse Primary School in Bristol retrieved it, they saw the thousands of missed messages. Executive headteacher Simon Botten said: 'The teacher picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9,000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil WhatsApp group overnight. 'Nine thousand messages in a 15-hour overnight period.' Advertisement READ MORE ON PHONE BANS Staff at the school were so shocked by the level of activity they started a consultation process over whether smartphones should be banned. Supporters pointed to a rise in cyber-bullying, growing phone obsession and predators online. When police were brought in to give a talk on sexual predators and crooks lurking online, shocked parents swung behind the idea — with nearly nine in ten voting in favour of the ban. Children will still be allowed to bring in brick phones for texts and calls only. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive Latest Mr Botten hopes it will help parents delay buying smartphones and reduce peer pressure in the playground. He added: 'Parents massively overestimate dangers in the real world and massively underestimate dangers in the digital one.' 'It was so loud,' ex teacher says banning phones transformed school overnight
The Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Staggering number of WhatsApps primary school pupil sent in single night revealed, sparking smartphone ban
A YEAR 6 pupil racked up 9,000 WhatsApps in a single night — prompting their primary school to ban smartphones. The extreme messaging on the child's handset stoked online safety fears, leading parents to agree to a ban. 1 The pupil, aged ten or 11, had followed school rules by handing in their phone at the start of the day but forgot to collect it. When their teacher at Blackhorse Primary School in Bristol retrieved it, they saw the thousands of missed messages. Executive headteacher Simon Botten said: 'The teacher picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9,000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil WhatsApp group overnight. 'Nine thousand messages in a 15-hour overnight period.' Staff at the school were so shocked by the level of activity they started a consultation process over whether smartphones should be banned. Supporters pointed to a rise in cyber-bullying, growing phone obsession and predators online. When police were brought in to give a talk on sexual predators and crooks lurking online, shocked parents swung behind the idea — with nearly nine in ten voting in favour of the ban. Children will still be allowed to bring in brick phones for texts and calls only. Mr Botten hopes it will help parents delay buying smartphones and reduce peer pressure in the playground. He added: 'Parents massively overestimate dangers in the real world and massively underestimate dangers in the digital one.'
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Primary school bans phones after pupil receives 9,000 messages overnight
A school has banned smartphones after a pupil's phone received 9,000 WhatsApp messages overnight. Children at Blackhorse Primary School in Bristol will no longer be allowed to bring in smartphones after a teacher found a device with thousands of notifications in the class cupboard. For the past couple of years, pupils had been allowed to bring smartphones to school, but had to hand them in to the teacher during lesson time. Recently a phone was accidentally left in the Year 6 teacher's cupboard overnight and returned to the pupil the next day with 9,000 notifications on it. Writing in a blog, Simon Botten, the schools executive head teacher, said the decision to ban smartphones was taken amid fears of a potential cyber bulling risk. A similar ban at Blackhorse's sister school Emersons Green is also set to come into force, but needs to be ratified by governors. Mr Botten wrote: 'The teacher picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9,000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil WhatsApp group overnight. Nine thousand messages in a 15-hour overnight period. 'After nearly two decades in headship, I have watched this technological phenomenon unfold slowly. 'At first it was imperceptible: the odd argument via old-fashioned texts, the odd child seeing something online which they shouldn't (always at home). But over the years I have seen the risks grow ever more significant and ever more frequent.' Groups of parents were set up to consult on the issue before a wider consultation on the possibility of an outright ban. Some parents were concerned about the safety of their children on the way too and from school. Mr Botten added, however, that 'several parents who were also police officers' said parents 'massively over-estimate dangers in the real world and massively under-estimate dangers in the digital world'. Other parents 'pointed out that it was none of the school's business' whether they bought their children a phone, he added. 'We countered this argument by explaining that we would not be preventing parents buying their child a smartphone, just preventing them bringing it to school,' he said. A school survey showed 87 per cent of parents at the larger Blackhorse Primary School were in favour of the outright ban, while at Emersons Green 58 per cent were in favour of the ban. Governors at Blackhorse had the ultimate decision, and voted for the ban, which is to come into force in September. Governors at Emersons Green are yet to have their vote. Mr Botten added: 'Since announcing the result, I have had zero emails from parents complaining about the ban, whereas I have had a good many parents thank the school for taking a stand.' Speaking outside the school this week, one parent accused the school of encouraging her to buy the phone for her daughter in the first place. The mother of a Year 5 student and a former Blackhorse pupil, now in Year 7 at another school, said: 'It was the school that encouraged us to get a phone for my Year 7 daughter so she could walk to school on her own. 'I feel neutral, really, but I don't see why they need to change the current rule of leaving the phone in a box at the start and end of the day.' Last month it was revealed that a school's average exam results jumped by an entire grade following a mobile phone ban. At Excelsior Academy in Hackney, east London, A-level grades rose from a C average to B, according to official statistics. Omar Deria, 45, the academy's head teacher, said a rule to confiscate phones for up to a week if seen in lessons had a 'miraculous' effect. Meanwhile, the Government has been against measures to introduce a nationwide ban on mobile phones in schools – instead leaving it to headteachers to impose restrictions. Labour's election manifesto said: 'Children and young people face significant harm online, with inappropriate content too easily available at their fingertips on a smartphone.' But last year Sir Keir Starmer said he was 'not in favour of simply banning them for children under 16'.
