Latest news with #smartphoneban
Daily Mail
5 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.'
The Sun
6 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
6 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'.
Geek Wire
29-05-2025
- Health
- Geek Wire
The right call? A year after school's phone ban, educators and parents love it, but kids aren't so sure
Following a smartphone ban implemented at Seattle's Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, administrators say students are more socially engaged. During a recent lunch, some students participated in name-that-tune while would-you-rather questions flashed on a big screen. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) At a recent lunch period at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, kids scarfed down their spaghetti and sandwiches so they could snag a spot at the foosball and ping pong tables. They went outside to play co-ed volleyball or shoot hoops and kick soccer balls. Indoors, school principal Zachary Stowell grabbed a mic to emcee a round of name-that-tune. The library was open to provide a quieter space. A few students still had laptops out and were using them alone or in groups. Not a smartphone in sight. Nine months ago, the Seattle school implemented one of the strictest phone bans in the city's public school district, requiring its 755 students to lock up their devices in pouches for the school day. Eagle Staff is part of a broader experiment playing out nationwide and even globally as teachers and administrators struggle to manage the distractions and disruptions caused by kids' phones on campus. Eagle Staff's leaders and parents say the new rules have made a huge difference. 'It has truly shifted the culture of school and the ability for our kids to be kids,' said counselor Carley Spitzer. 'There is so much more joy and connection.' But the response from students is mixed. And early research shows that the impact on emotional and mental health benefits is muted — with some students reporting higher levels of stress without their devices. When it comes to bans, 'the teachers really like them,' said Lucía Magis-Weinberg, a University of Washington assistant professor studying cellphone policy impacts. 'Students, not so much.' Benefits reported by instructors at Eagle Staff and elsewhere include fewer disciplinary issues, less disruption in classrooms, and more time for instruction. Kids are engaging with each other. Disagreements that might have escalated into full-fledged fights when the phones came out to capture videos now fizzle out faster. Restrictions vary across Washington, and state officials have asked school districts to come up with their own rules for the next academic year. Seattle Public Schools leaves it to school administrators to set campus policies, and 'is currently evaluating whether a district wide 'away for the day' cellphone policy is necessary,' said a spokesperson by email. 'As part of this process, the district is conducting thorough research and analysis to understand the impact of cellphone use in schools.' However, data on the issue is limited, and not entirely clear. Eagle Staff Principal Zachary Stowell in front of his office whiteboard, which includes a quote from a student commenting on how the school's phone ban changed interactions, saying, 'people are not who they used to be.' (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Preliminary research results Magis-Weinberg is a developmental psychologist and head of the International Adolescent Connection and Technology Laboratory at the UW. At the start of this school year, she launched a study on the impacts of smartphone rules at multiple middle and high schools in Washington. The policies included everything from all-day bans to varied restrictions during lunch and passing periods. Magis-Weinberg is collecting data through surveys sent out in December and January, as well as recently issued end-of-the-year questionnaires. Roughly 4,400 students, teachers and parents responded to the initial inquiry; Seattle Public Schools are not part of the research. Preliminary results echo the responses from Eagle Staff educators and parents. Teachers reported feeling less stressed and said they're more effective in the classroom without phone-related disruptions. Passing periods between classes are louder now that kids are interacting more in person. Parents have needed to find alternate ways to communicate with their kids during the school day, but it's working out. Students were a different story. Some of the 3,700 respondents said there were academic improvements when phone use was curbed, but most did not report emotional, mental-health benefits. Early results found: 15-20% students said there were improvements in their attention, ability to get work done, and understanding of instruction 10-15% students reported a worsening of emotion regulation and stress, and a loss of agency and personal authenticity Lucía Magis-Weinberg, University of Washington assistant professor in psychology and head of the International Adolescent Connection and Technology Laboratory. (UW Photo) 'I thought their stress would go down,' Magis-Weinberg said. Results finding that their stress has gone up without the phones 'was very, very surprising' she said, 'and again, super preliminary.' But the outcome actually aligns with the findings from a British study that's billed as the first in the world to examine the impact of school phone rules on student academics and mental health. The research included 1,227 students age 12-15 and was published in April in the Lancet's journal for European health policy. 'There is no evidence that restrictive school policies are associated with overall phone and social media use or better mental well-being in adolescents,' the study's authors wrote — but that wasn't the whole story. The researchers did find that increased time spent on phones and social media 'is significantly associated with worsened outcomes for mental health and well-being, physical activity and sleep, and attainment and disruptive [behavior].' Victoria Goodyear, the study's lead author, told the BBC that the focus needs to be on reducing the overall usage of phones, adding: 'We need to do more than just ban phones in schools.' Magis-Weinberg is continuing her research, and future studies of smartphone policies could look at academics, disciplinary actions, and mental health — lines of inquiry beyond self-reporting that may include a biased take from the students. 'As a developmentalist, it doesn't surprise me that adolescents are pushing back. Their response, perhaps, is a way to express themselves,' Magis-Weinberg said. 'They might feel they're losing their autonomy, their capacity to make choices.' Eagles Staff students are playing volleyball, soccer and foosball at lunch, instead of turning to phones. (GeekWire Photos / Lisa Stiffler) Mixed marks from students If students could vote on whether to end the smartphone ban, 'they would definitely vote to bring them back,' said Suvuka Whittecar, an eighth-grade Eagle Staff student, while taking a break from PE. She agreed there was less conflict at school, that she was having longer conversations with friends, and that most students were following the ban. But there was the stress, she said, of using and tracking the fabric pouch used to lock up the phone. 'It feels like another problem I have to deal with, and I have to return it at the end of the year,' she said, just as she does the school-issued laptop. The pouches are made by Yondr and cost about $25-$30 each. They were bought with PTSA funds and a grant. Students who lose or damage the pouches are asked to pay to replace them. Paultoro Tanaka, a fellow eighth grader, had a different take on the ban. 'I was pretty excited because I don't have a phone,' he said. 'Not having a phone meant I wasn't as connected with everyone, I was kind of left out. But when they did ban the cellphones, I connected with a lot more people.' That said, his friends with phones were not pleased with the new policy. 'They definitely thought it was annoying,' Tanaka said, though at this point, 'everyone's pretty much accepted it.' Eagle Staff counselor Carley Spitzer said the school was under a 'cloud' thanks to cellphone use. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Parental approval Some Eagle Staff parents also had mixed feelings going into the ban — but they appear more uniformly happy with the outcome. School administration said they haven't received complaints from parents. And Michelle Peters, the school's PTSA president and the mother of an eighth-grader, said the Facebook page for Eagle Staff families has likewise been free of rants over the policy. 'It's like crickets on there,' Peters said. She had anticipated complaints from parents who hadn't been able to reach their kids when someone forgot a lunch or after-school plans changed, but students and their families are able to make calls through the school's front office. 'It's working the way it always has in the past,' Peters said. 'We kind of forgot we had systems in place.' Kids who used their phones to help manage anxiety, maybe by listening to music, are instead offered fidget toys or they can drop into a counselor's office for a music break. The couple of students who need a phone to manage their diabetes are still able to do so. When it comes to safety concerns such as the occasional school lock down, Peters said Principal Stowell has sent quick, clear communications to families. Administrators say it's safer for kids to focus on staff in an emergency, rather than being tuned into their devices. Stowell said the absence of phones cuts down on misinformation and rumors being spread in these situations. If there was a serious emergency, classrooms have devices for unlocking the phones and the Yondr pouches can be cut open with scissors. As Seattle Public Schools considers district-wide policies, it's looking to pilot schools that have tried new cellphone rules, and is analyzing guidance from the Washington Office of Superintendent Public Instruction, the U.S. Department of Education, and national research, a spokesperson said. Before making changes, the district said it will consult with students, staff, families and community members. Eagle Staff administrators acquired foosball and ping pong tables for students after a cellphone ban was enacted. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) 'Choosing the in-person connection' As part of the smartphone ban this year, Eagle Staff's leadership has intentionally supported students in re-enaging with each other. They've scheduled more assemblies and excursions off campus. They recently took the eighth graders bowling — marking the kids' last outing of the year and their final Eagle Staff field trip. The students had an ask for the event. 'They desperately wanted their phones to capture pictures,' said Spitzer, who has been the counselor for this cohort since sixth grade. So she and Stowell laid out the ground rules and expectations, and the kids, she said, 'really rose to the occasion.' The students took photos, but mostly the phones were off to the side, untouched as they snacked, chatted and bowled. Could it be a sign that their digital addiction was a little bit diminished? 'Maybe we have untangled a bit of that messy wiring,' Spitzer said. 'That [idea] they have to be on their phones to be having fun or to feel connected. They were still choosing the in-person connection at the field trip.'
BBC News
22-05-2025
- BBC News
Solihull primary schools to ban children bringing in smartphones
A group of primary schools are set to ban pupils from bringing in smartphones on and parents from schools across Solihull attended an event at Arden Academy in Knowle on Thursday, to discuss the dangers of pupils being online and using Hales, head of school for Key Stage 2 at Dorridge Primary, told the BBC smartphones would be banned altogether at the site from school will join Knowle Primary and Bentley Heath Primary with banning pupils from bringing in the devices from the start of the next academic year. Speaking to the BBC after the event, Mrs Hales said children in years five and six were currently able to bring in smartphones, with 90% doing so due to safety reasons, such as walking home."But actually hearing from all the experts today we know that that isn't actually going to help them," she explained."So we are going to ban all smartphones from September in our school, so no children will be able to bring a smartphone into school."Gemma Thelwell, head of school for Key Stage 1 at Dorridge Primary, said smartphones were an issue the school saw on a daily basis and had lead to "lots of lost learning time"."The impact on children's mental health is staggering, we can't just be blind to this anymore," Mrs Thelwell, who helped organise the event, said."We need parents to work with schools to make sure that we are keeping our young people safe."Officers from West Midlands Police joined headteachers and parents at the event on Ben Lowe, schools intervention and prevention officer, said about 80% of his work within schools in the area was about being online and using social media."Unfortunately, we'll get fall outs from friendship groups and various offences that can be committed, whether that be malicious communications or harassment," he to figures from Ofcom last year, nearly a quarter of UK five to seven year olds now have their own Claire Lunham, senior educational psychologist, said she didn't think most parents knew that smartphones and social media were "causing harm" but people were shocked to see the statistics."Smartphones are just so widespread in our lives now, they're in every single home and I think children are understandably wanting to access parents phones," she explained."And if parents aren't aware of the harms and dangers, then it's a very slippery slope." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
