Council backs schools over mobile phone restrictions

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

Senior councillors have given their backing to a county borough’s schools for their policies on restricting pupils’ use of mobile phones.

Headteachers from some schools in Caerphilly reported seeing pupils interacting more with each other and behaving better after phone use was curtailed.

Most of Caerphilly County Borough’s secondary schools have a “gate to gate” ban on pupils using their phones, which lasts from the time they arrive each morning until the end of the school day.

Earlier this month, a scrutiny committee heard how school leaders felt they would benefit from the council’s backing, as it would give them more sway in communicating the rules with parents.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday July 22, members agreed to endorse the various approaches taken at the borough’s schools.

“I must stress, this is not about stopping young people taking their mobile phones to school, but a ‘gate to gate’ restriction which brings many benefits,” said Cllr Carol Andrews, the cabinet member for education.

She told colleagues schools and parents had been “raising concerns regarding the significant impact that mobile phones are having on health, wellbeing and learning experiences of children and young people”.

Cllr Eluned Stenner said phones could be a “distraction during the school day”.

“School should be a safe place for all children – we also know that bullying takes place through mobile phone use and social media use, so with this ban… it will ensure all of our children are safe for the duration of the school day,” she added.

Council officer Paul Warren told the cabinet their endorsement was not a “blanket ban” but about “supporting schools to make local decisions”.

Each school would have its own plans in place for pupils who needed phones for medical, emergency or additional learning needs reasons, he added.

School staff will be expected to “lead by example” with their phone use, although “there will be times a teacher might have to have their phone on them”, Mr Warren said, adding it was “down to the school to introduce” such guidance.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who leads the local authority, said headteachers didn’t want to “implement draconian measures”, adding he hoped restrictions on phones in schools could “generally be a good thing”.

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