{"id":143895,"date":"2018-06-20T15:32:55","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T15:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/to-ban-or-not-to-ban-should-phones-be-allowed-in-schools\/"},"modified":"2018-06-20T15:32:55","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T15:32:55","slug":"to-ban-or-not-to-ban-should-phones-be-allowed-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/to-ban-or-not-to-ban-should-phones-be-allowed-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"To ban or not to ban: Should phones be allowed in schools?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"PupilsImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption Phones in schools - a useful tool, or a waste of everyone's time? (Stock image) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Schools should ban mobile phones from the classroom, the culture secretary has said. <\/p>\n

Matt Hancock, writing in the Telegraph, said he admired schools who did not allow them, adding that more heads should "follow their lead".<\/p>\n

In a letter to the same paper, a group of Conservative MPs said mobiles should be confiscated at the school gates.<\/p>\n

At the moment, schools are free to set their own rules. So what are the options?<\/p>\n

No phones here<\/h2>\n

Michaela Community School in Wembley has implemented a blanket ban - if a phone is seen or heard, it will be confiscated.<\/p>\n

Head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh says: "We believe strongly that children should not have phones in school. <\/p>\n

"We think they are extremely distracting for children and they interrupt their concentration, they interrupt their ability to think."<\/p>\n

Media playback is unsupported on your device
Media captionKatharine Birbalsingh discussing her Tory conference speech in 2010<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, they don't actually ban them from the premises, as some parents want to be able to contact their children after school.<\/p>\n

"If they had one in their bag, but if we never see them or hear them, then you don't have any problems. <\/p>\n

"We rarely see a phone. No child would ever deliberately take their phone out here.<\/p>\n

"They know the expectation and they agree with it. They like the fact they have freedom from the world of social media." <\/p>\n

'The ban stops bullying'<\/h2>\n

It is a similar policy at Reepham High School and College in Norfolk. In September, it introduced a ban on phones - although they are allowed to be hidden away in school bags.<\/p>\n

Head teacher Timothy Gibbs told 5 Live: "The reason we wanted to ban them originally is there were lots of little things going on in school during the day that we didn't like - some in lessons, and some out of lessons. <\/p>\n

"So now at school, we have less incidents of little things like a phone vibrating during a lesson which disturbs the flow of the lesson."<\/p>\n

Image copyright PA
Image caption "I admire head teachers who take a firm approach and do not allow mobiles to be used during the school day," says Culture Secretary Matt Hancock <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr Gibbs added: "We don't find students now at lunchtime standing in groups, looking at screens, not really interacting with each other. <\/p>\n

"We actually find there has been a decline in bullying between students during school hours."<\/p>\n

However, the school does allow them to be used in the classroom if "under explicit instruction by a teacher".<\/p>\n

Break-time only<\/h2>\n

According to the Department for Education, 95% of schools in England control the use of phones in some way. <\/p>\n

Thomas Tallis School, a comprehensive in Greenwich, south-east London, allows pupils to use their phones during breaks.<\/p>\n

Head teacher Carolyn Roberts says: "We believe that one of the things you do in schools is give children the skills for adult life - and one of the things adults have to know is how to manage and moderate their mobile phone use. <\/p>\n

"Our policy is that mobile phones are allowed until they become a nuisance and then if they get in the way of learning we confiscate them."<\/p>\n

Ms Roberts also questions how feasible a total ban would be.<\/p>\n

"We have over 1,900 students here," she says. <\/p>\n

"To prevent any mobile phone coming into the building we would have to search every single one of them every single day."<\/p>\n

What are others saying?<\/h2>\n

A 2015 study by the London School of Economics found that banning phones had the effect of giving pupils an extra week's education over the course of an academic year.<\/p>\n

Researchers looked at schools in four English cities and found test scores increased by more than 6% in those which banned phones. <\/p>\n

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Head teachers already, of course, have the power to ban mobile phones in schools and we support their right to do so."<\/p>\n

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption France is banning phones in schools - after a campaign pledge from President Emmanuel Macron <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week the headmaster of Eton, Simon Henderson, said schools and parents should not be scared to take smartphones away from teenagers.<\/p>\n

But Jill Hodges, the founder of Fire Tech, which runs technology courses aimed at nine to 17-year-olds, says phones can also be good educational tools.<\/p>\n

"There are tonnes of schools that we see where kids are using technology in good ways," she says. <\/p>\n

"They're being creative, they're able to collaborate and communicate and share ideas they have."<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 'Don't be afraid to take phones off teens'<\/li>\n
  • French MPs back school phone ban<\/li>\n
  • Mobile bans 'improve school results'<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Paul Howard-Jones, a professor of neuroscience and education at the University of Bristol, says schools have an important role in helping pupils learn when to use their phones.<\/p>\n

    He says: "If school and education is about preparing us for that world, then learning how to use your mobile phone - when it's appropriate, when it's not appropriate, is a very important part of that. <\/p>\n

    "Children need to learn to self-regulate. They're not being given the opportunity to do that if their phones are taken away at the start of the day."<\/p>\n

    The UK is not the only country debating the issue. French President Emmanuel Macron included a pledge to enforce a ban at schools during his campaign.<\/p>\n

    It is due to come into force in September. Critics, however, have called it a publicity stunt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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