Pupils at a Welsh school are being told to put their phones in locked pouches at the start of the school day and swipe them open as they leave. The “school phone-free zone” has stopped cyber-bullying while children are socialising and concentrating better as they can’t play on their phones during lessons and breaktimes, said Ysgol Aberconwy head teacher Ian Gerrard.
Mr Gerrard believes his is the first school in Wales to use the pouch system which was introduced at the start of the school year and includes 50 magnetic unlocking stations for swiping out at the end of the day. Under the system every pupil is issued a lockable phone pouch, which is now considered part of the uniform and costs the school £10 a year for all 1,100 pupils. That money comes out of the school’s budget and is well worth the results, he said.
In Wales it is up to individual school leaders to decide their policies on mobile phones and whether they should be banned. A number of schools have various systems in place.
“Rather than talking about 'phone bans' we are trying to create a phone-free space which is positive for mental health, wellbeing, and engaging in lessons,” Mr Gerrard said. “It’s not a ban because pupils bring their phones to school and the pouches can be unlocked by teachers if they are needed for use in lessons." Other schools in Wales have banned mobile phones and you can read more about the results of that here
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Teachers check all pupils’ phones are locked in the pouches during registration at the start of the school day and all departments can lock and unlock them during the day if needed. The Yondr pouch system was already used in a number of schools in England even before the Department of Education there announced plans to imposed a blanket ban in all schools late last year.
Meetings with parents, pupils, and the school council were held to explain the reasons for curbing phone use at Ysgol Aberconwy, whose pupils are aged 11 to 18.Some people aren’t happy but overall a majority are and some parents have reported their children are happier and more engaged now, said Mr Gerrard
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In a letter to parents he told them: “We have taken the decision to make our school a phone-free space from to support children’s wellbeing and improve teaching and learning.” Before the pouches were introduced there were instances of cyber-bullying in school but that has now stopped, he said.
Staff have also been told they must not use mobile phones in front of pupils unless it is as part of learning with them on phones during a lesson. Mr Gerrard said it was all part of moves to help pupils learn not to be so dependent on their phones.
“Before this we noticed children were often focused on their phones [during breaktimes] rather than each other. There were issues with peer pressure on children in regard to social media and cyber-bullying which we have eradicated during the school day.
“There are children who aren’t in favour of the pouches but a large number do recognise the benefits. We’ve removed the stress of online abuse during the school day.
“If you fall out with a friend you can deal with it supportively in the school day rather than having a social media fallout. It’s important as educators that we realise mobile phones are part of life and our role is to help children understand how to use that tool safely and productively.
“Issuing bans creates conflict. We recognise children need their phones on the bus coming to school and going home but we wanted a phone-free space rather than them disappearing to the toilets to use them.”
