Schools and parents react to phone ban plan

A number of schools in Cambridgeshire have told the BBC they supported the government's plans to ban smartphones during the school day, while parents have given a mixed reaction.

On Monday, the government said it would table an amendment to its Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill to create "a clear legal requirement for schools".

The Keys Academies Trust, which runs five Peterborough schools including Jack Hunt Academy (JHA), said it "welcomed" the proposal, while the city's Iqra Academy said mobile phones "have no place in schools".

One parent told the BBC they hoped the move would be the "first step in regulating phones and content", but others said they did not agree with outright bans.

Jon Hebblethwaite, headteacher at JHA, said phones "can be a distraction from learning, can be used for cyber-bullying and reduce healthy social interaction".

"By legislating, the government are supporting schools and trusts in ensuring there is a ban in place," he said.

The Department for Education said the move would give "legal force to what schools are already doing in practice".

Currently, students at JHA must keep phones switched off in bags. The school said it was looking at other alternatives going forward, including lockable pouches.

The trust's four primary schools operate a hand-in policy, which will remain in place in September.

Michael Wright, headteacher at Iqra Academy, an all-girls school, said it "always" aimed to "create a safe, focussed and positive learning environment".

"To help with this, we have a no phone policy whilst our students are at school," he said.

"Students are required to hand in their phones to the school office on their arrival to school each morning. This avoids distractions in learning and disruption to social interaction during break-times."

In the past couple of years, Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 42 schools across the country including Ormiston Bushfield and Ormiston Meadows in Peterborough, said it was phasing out access to smartphones, with them required to be locked in pouches during the day.

The rule is also in place at The Netherhall School in Cambridge and Swavesey Village College.

The Association of School and College Leaders said the legal backing "doesn't really change very much" because most schools already had phone bans, but said the government should help provide safe storage and called for "tougher regulatory action" to tackle the harm caused by devices outside of school.

Parents across Cambridgeshire have given their differing views to the BBC.

Dominika Brown, from Peterborough, said: "This isn't about taking things away, it's about protecting them [children] and helping them make better choices in a digital world.

"I'd go even further - social media should be banned too for minors."

Mishanka Kaul Ganjoo, also from the city, has a 13-year-old son and described the move as "the best decision".

"This is the first step in regulating phones and content," she said.

Mum-of-three, Nosheen Anwar, said: "We are seeing an increasing number of kids having anxiety, mood issues, headache and eye symptoms due to overusing of devices.

"This is a really important step."

Ellie Davis added that "many jobs don't allow phones during shift, so it makes sense to me to ban them in schools".

Meanwhile, Kimberly Lavery, a mother-of-two from Huntingdon, said "it's sort of taking too much freedom away from children".

"I understand there are issues with bullying, addiction, there are health implications to this argument. But I think it needs a lot of thought because it's going to have a lot of pushback," she said.

"I'm not one for banning things and believe the real issues need to be addressed head-on - whatever they may be.

"When children have their free time during break, it's their choice to use their phone - whether that's contacting a friend, reading an article, or watching a video - shouldn't that be their freedom of choice? If they're not causing harm to other students, where's their freedom gone?"

Several parents, who wished to be anonymous, also told the BBC they did not agree with a complete ban, and said pupils should be allowed to carry phones while walking to and from school for safety reasons.

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