Pupils behave better and interact more after school phone bans, headteachers say

Secondary school pupils across Caerphilly County Borough are interacting more and behaving better following tougher rules on mobile phone use, according to headteachers.

Councillors have endorsed schools’ current arrangements for mobile phone restrictions, in a move leaders say will strengthen their position to enforce the rules.

The council’s education committee heard every borough secondary school enforces a lesson-time ban on phone use, but some allow their pupils to use their phones during break times.

Cllr Carol Andrews, the cabinet member for education, said there were “many benefits” to the so-called “gate to gate” rules in most secondary schools, which ban phone use between the start and end of the school day.

A report notes headteachers would welcome the council’s endorsement of their phone policies, and also allow the local authority to better communicate current rules to pupils and parents.

“This is not about stopping young people from taking their mobile phones to school,” said Cllr Andrews.

Rob Hartshorn, the council’s executive director for education, said the “bigger picture” in the issue was a growing understanding of the harms caused by excessive phone use and social media.

He said the committee was not being asked to decide a new policy, but to “show support for headteachers… in the approaches they’re taking”.

Heolddu Comprehensive School’s headteacher, Nerys Davies, said she and colleagues would welcome a “steer” from the council backing their phone rules, and also help deliver “messaging” to parents.

“We’ve found that children engage much better in learning when they’re not preoccupied with their phones,” said Trinity Fields headteacher Dave Jenkins.

“Behaviour is improved and significant [issues around] safeguards have been eradicated,” he added.

At Idris Davies School for pupils aged 3-18, headteacher Liz Owen said the same phone rules apply to all learners.

“The biggest change we’ve seen is during lunchtime and breaktime the pupils are now interacting with each other more, they’re having conversations,” she said.

“Before, they were heads down in a mobile phone.”

Mrs Owen added a clampdown on phone use had also helped tackle safeguarding issues around video recording.

Liz Owen, the headteacher at Ysgol Gymraeg Trelyn, added staff were “quite astounded” to see how phone usage “is hitting children at younger ages”, prompting the school to rethink its phone policies.

This has also extended to the end of the day, when teachers “encourage” parents not to use mobile phones in the school yard, “so they can then greet their children with a smile at the end of the day”.

Mrs Davies added tighter rules on phones in school would allow pupils to concentrate more on their education and also improve their communication skills.

“We are seeing more young people who are – forgive the word – addicted to using their mobile phones,” she said. “It takes up a lot more of their time.”

But Mrs Davies acknowledged the “prevalence” of mobile phone use “has increased right across society”.

Following the committee meeting, the council’s cabinet is expected to formally endorse the borough’s secondary schools’ approach to phone use.