Secondary school heads urge delay in smartphone use

Secondary schools in Southwark are suggesting pupils have "traditional" phones and not smartphones

A group of central London secondary schools is encouraging students not to have smartphones until they are in Year 10.

Headteachers from 16 secondary schools in Southwark said they were collaborating after witnessing "the negative impact of smartphones and social media in their schools".

The group said part of the plan included "higher sanctions" for students using smartphones compared to non-smartphone devices if confiscated.

Jessica West, headteacher of Ark Walworth Academy, said the schools wanted to "support families and children in making healthy choices".

The 16 schools said they hoped the plan would help tackle mental health, bullying and screen-time.

Each school already has a strict mobile phone policy to keep schools and classrooms phone free, the group said.

It added the measures would impact more than 13,000 young people in Southwark.

It comes after head teachers in St Albans, Hertfordshire, called on parents not to let their children have a smartphone before they were 14.

Under the new plan, the Southwark group said it would:

• Help pupils and families understand the "well-documented downsides of smartphones and social media use amongst young people"

• Encourage students to have non-smartphone devices, or "traditional" mobile phones, until they are - at the earliest - in Year 10

• Introduce higher sanctions for when smartphones are confiscated

The group said that some schools would introduce the changes in September, and others would introduce them later in the 2024/25 academic year.

Ms West said: "We take our responsibilities to children seriously.

"Southwark secondary schools want children to be safe, well and happy. Many requests for stronger measures have been made of 'big tech' companies but action is woefully slow and that leaves our children at risk."

The group of headteachers said they were informed, in part, by a report from the House of Commons Education Committee in May.

It said that extended screen time had become increasingly normal for young children and teenagers, with a 52% increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022.

'Behavioural addiction'

It said: “Nearly 25% of children and young people use their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction.”

Mike Baxter, headteacher of The City of London Academy, Southwark, said: “The evidence presented over the past 12 months is clear; for our young people, the negative impacts of smartphones and social media use far outstrip the benefits.

"By working together, the secondary headteachers of Southwark are committed to addressing this problem head-on.

"The proposed changes will give parents a real alternative as to what type of phone to buy their child, and at what age."

He added: "Working together we hope to see a dramatic decrease in smartphone ownership amongst Southwark pupils and, as a result, an enormous improvement in their wellbeing and education.”

The group of secondary headteachers said it was in contact with local primary schools in the hope of establishing a "borough-wide approach" to smartphones.

The schools involved are:

• Ark All Saints Academy

• Ark Globe Academy

• Ark Walworth Academy

• Harris Academy Bermondsey

• Harris Academy Peckham

• Harris Boys Academy East Dulwich

• Harris Girls Academy East Dulwich

• Sacred Heart Catholic School

• South Bank University Academy

• St Michael's Catholic College

• St Saviour's and St Olave's

• St Thomas the Apostle School

• The Charter School Bermondsey

• The Charter School East Dulwich

• The Charter School North Dulwich

• The City of London Academy, Southwark