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Blanket phone bans in schools “are not in the best interest of children” and are ineffective in “protecting children’s rights from the potential harmful impacts of phones and social media,” a report from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) says.
Published on Wednesday, the report One Size Does Not Fit All, says policy needs to “move beyond an over-simplistic focus on bans” and towards an approach “that supports children to competently and confidently navigate the digital world”.
The report comes three months after a circular from the Department of Education to schools requiring them to ban pupils’ access to mobile phones during the school day, including during breaks.
The ban does not apply during travel to and from school and is intended to improve “the learning environment in schools by reducing distraction”; reduce the risk of cyber-bullying and access to inappropriate content during school hours, and to increase “traditional social interactions between pupils and students at school break times”, says the circular.
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For its report, the OCO consulted with 29 young people aged between 13 and 17 on its youth advisory panel (YAP).
“The YAP told us that banning phones at school can have just as negative an impact on their rights as the phones themselves, and that phones have many other uses at school other than just communication,” according to the OCO’s head of policy, Dr Tricia Keilthy.
“They told us, for example, how they use their phones to learn, stay informed, look after their health, and even connect with their culture, language and beliefs.
“The young people also describe how they have not had a say in the decision to ban phones nor have their views been taken into account.”
The department circular, however, specifies that “consultation with the school community [including pupils] is a key feature of this measure”.
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The circular says the department “recognises the need to build digital competence and an effective digital education ecosystem, so as to develop competent, critically engaged and active learners”.
Welcoming the department commitment to consultation with school communities, the OCO report says: “However, students are not only members of the school community, like their teachers, parents and principals, but as the department and schools know well, students are at the centre of their school community.”
The report makes five recommendations, including first: “Do not introduce blanket bans in schools [but rather] consider the impact on children’s rights, particularly on their right to have a say.”
It calls for greater investment in resources for digital education and improving schools rather than on phone pouches, as well as for more research on the issue to be communicated in a child-friendly way to young people.
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Different approaches should be adopted to phone rules depending on the age and maturity levels of children, says the OCO, and there should be increased support, education and awareness for parents, teachers “and other adults to better understand technology and better support students through the challenges they are facing”.
