Education / Petition calls for mobile phones to be banned at Anderson High School
CONCERNED parents have called for mobile phones to be banned during the school day at the Anderson High School (AHS) in Lerwick.
A petition has been written to educational leaders at the AHS and Shetland Islands Council (SIC), urging them to stop the use of phones during classes and breaks.
In the petition, parents have said their children are accessing apps – such as TikTok and Snapchat – that they are banned from seeing at home, while at school.
And they have called for phones to be stored in bags or safe deposit boxes for the duration of the school day.
SIC children’s services director Samantha Flaws said they would explore the topic with “parents, pupils and staff” in the coming weeks.
She said they wrote to head heachers in September setting out their commitment to reviewing mobile phones in schools this academic year.
“A working group on this topic is due to meet soon and there will be opportunities for stakeholders to share their views when schools return after the Christmas holidays,” she added.
It comes amid increasing concern about social media use by youngsters generally, with Australia for instance this week approving a ban on children under 16 from accessing the services in a landmark ruling.
The local letter says though the AHS does not actually put phones in children’s hands, it is in a “powerful position” to limit their usage.
“Children spend more time in school than any other place outside the home,” the petition says.
“Parents – and many young people themselves – want schools to help them minimise the negative impact of smartphones.”
The concerned parents have said mobile phones distract pupils from school, are a detriment to mental health and promote cyberbullying.
They have also said children can access pornography through them, which they were often “exposed” to through social media and messaging apps.
And they wrote that the phones “infringe on a child’s privacy”, with children allowed to video and photograph each other at school without consent at school.
“The average UK 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week – equivalent to a part-time job – on their smartphone,” they said.
“This leaves little time for real world activities and relationships or to learn the essential life skills needed for the transition to adulthood.”
The parents have asked the AHS and SIC to consider banning the use of smartphones during the school day on school premises – including at break and lunch times.
“We ask that phones be silenced and stored in bags or turned into safety deposit boxes for the entire school day, not just during lessons,” they said.
“There could be a phased transition starting with one day a week to allow pupils and teachers to become accustomed to the new norms.
“Exceptions could be made for pupils with caring responsibilities or specific needs. The ban would obviously not apply to the halls of residence outside the school day.
“Urgent contact from home could be made via the school office, non-urgent messages could be accessed when pupils leave the building at the end of the school day.”
As well as that, they are asking for “strict, age-appropriate” Wi-Fi filters to applied at the AHS.
They said that pupils can access sites such as TikTok and Snapchat at school, even when they have been banned at home by parents.
And they have said that parents should be encouraged to “delay giving smartphones to their children”.
“Parents are desperate for guidance on this issue, and your support would help parents to say ‘no’ to smartphones with confidence,” they said.
“We are keen to work with you to help reset the norm around smartphones and protect childhood for longer.
“Nationally and internationally we are waking up to this issue and we hope that Anderson and the education authority of Shetland, with the backing parents, can lead the way in establishing a policy that truly gets in front of the problem.”
The guidance from the Scottish Government is that headteachers have the responsibility on whether to impose bans on mobile phones in schools.
People can view and sign the petition here.
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