Our approach to smartphones is changing
From September, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 cannot bring smartphones into school. If we see or hear a smartphone, we will take it away and the student will need to return to see the member of staff who confiscated it at the end of the day, through a L2 10-minute detention.
The first time this happens, parents must collect the phone from school the next day. The second time, we will keep the phone for a full week (five school days) and parents must collect it when this time is up.
If a student will not give us their smartphone, parents must come to a meeting with a Senior Leader. The Senior Leader will take the phone during this meeting.
Students can bring a basic "brick" phone to school if they need one. If parents want to track their child's journey to and from school, we suggest using tracking devices like Airtags or Tiles instead.
We know that we have a small number of students with a medical condition such as diabetes that is managed using smartphone functions. If this applies to your son, please contact his Head of Year about specific arrangements that might be made.
Why this change is being made
Research shows that smartphones can harm young people's health and wellbeing. Studies show that smartphone use can cause problems with paying attention, sleeping badly, mental health issues, online bullying, seeing harmful content, and feeling lonely.
We want our students to talk face-to-face with each other and build better social skills and friendships through real-life connections. Many schools in Camden and more widely already ban mobile phones, and we have seen how this helps students learn better and feel happier.
What the school is asking parents to do
We are asking parents to wait until their child is 14 or older before giving them a smartphone. We also ask you to wait until they are 16 before letting them use social media. We know many parents want to wait before giving their 11, 12 or 13-year-old a smartphone, and we hope our school rule will help you make this choice. We would ask that you apply these TECH principles to managing technology at home.
If your child needs a phone for safety, please think about giving them a basic phone without internet, an Airtag, or a phone that is locked so it cannot access the internet or apps.
To help your child learn digital skills at home, we suggest letting them use a device with a keyboard, like a Chromebook, and making sure they use it safely.
We hope you will support us in keeping your children happy and safe by keeping smartphones out of school. We will be providing more support for families and explaining this change to students in the coming school weeks.
