04 October 2019
Another school has revised its mobile phones policy in a bid to enhance learning and wellbeing and ‘liberate’ students from the pressures associated with social media.
After half term, Victoria College students in Years 7 to 11 will not be able to use their mobile phones during the school day. The move follows Haute Vallée School’s recent decision to ban mobile phones after compelling evidence found that mobile phones in school were having a negative effect upon learning and wellbeing.
For many years schools have had clear policies in place for the use of mobile phones and other devices. These policies vary from school to school with policies regularly reviewed. Some schools allow students to use devices, including mobile phones, in lessons to assist with their learning and access homework assignments while others do not allow students to use their phones in school at any time. Les Quennevais School introduced a ban on mobile phones six years ago.
Sixth formers at Victoria College will still be able to use their mobile phones when they are in the Sixth Form Centre and for research and UCAS purposes, under close teacher supervision in classrooms.
The headmaster of Victoria College, Alun Watkins, said: “We hope that by having a phone-free school in Key Stages 3 and 4, this will liberate our younger students from mobile phone use for seven hours a day, focus their minds on learning, and encourage them to be more sociable. We also want to enable our students to take advantage of the additional opportunities available through our co-curricular programme that takes place over the lunch hour.
“I recently returned from a conference of 350 headteachers and received positive comments from those who had taken the positive step to restrict mobile phone usage during the school day.”
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