Education Minister Nick Gibb’s call this week to ban mobile phones in class will find an echo among Jewish school heads — though not his suggestion of going so far as to stop children even bringing them into school.
Not long after Rachel Fink arrived at JFS as headteacher last year, students were told to leave phones in lockers before school. She said this week she was “proud of the lead JFS has taken on this issue”. The policy had “been widely welcomed across the whole school community” and had had “a dramatic and positive effect on the school atmosphere”.
When Immanuel College headmaster Gary Griffin restricted mobile use in 2017, there was “initial resistance” from some students, he said.
Students in year 11 and below hand phones in before lessons and get them back at the end of the day. Sixthformers can keep theirs but not use them in class. The now accepted policy means, he said, that students “actually communicate with each other in breaks — face to face as opposed to ‘facebook to facebook’ — and phones are not a distraction in lessons either.”
While Sinai Primary School encouraged educational technology, headteacher Juliette Lipshaw said, “We have a blanket ban on mobile phones on campus. We know that young children are exposed to mobile phones from a very early age, but we also know that stepping away from technology is better for children’s health and allows them to focus on their learning.”
At JCoSS, headteacher Patrick Moriarty said “mobile phones may not be seen or heard on the school premises, other than for occasional specific learning activities under the supervision of a teacher, and for sixth-form students in designated areas.
“We enforce the policy with 24-hour confiscation, and it enjoys the support and compliance of the vast majority of students and parents.”
Michael Sutton, headteacher of Liverpool’s King David High School, said, “We do not allow phones to be used during the school day, but I would be reluctant to support a blanket ban.” The greatest challenge, he believed, was for students to learn good habits on usage of phones, which can be “a positive device, used to support learning, or a distraction”.
Hannele Reece, headteacher of Kantor King Solomon High School, said its students "gain the privilege of using their mobiles phones during break and lunchtime as part of the year group competition. They are not allowed to use phones in lessons."
It was important "to adequately prepare students for modern life in the workplace," she said, "and this means teaching them to use technology safely and responsibly."
Beverley Jacobson, Norwood’s chief executive, felt the debate on phone use could “sidetrack” from deeper issues that affect children’s wellbeing such as long waiting lists for mental health services or eating disorders. “The presence of phones in schools is not the issue,” she said, “The issue is around whether schools have strategies to deal with their presence.”
Norwood encouraged a holistic approach to help students deal with modern challenges, she said, “Our advice would be for schools to embrace this approach rather than ban phones.”
