Oxford headteacher says smartphone in schools ban is “entirely impossible”
The City Council has held a meeting to discuss banning phones in schools
A headteacher in Oxford says it’s “entirely impossible to make sure there are no smartphones” in schools, following a city council meeting discussing a potential immediate ban on phones.
Oxford City Council say they “supports calls for the immediate implementation of a ban on the use of smartphones in all primary and secondary schools for children up to the age of 16 years within Oxford, with exceptions”.
"There are age limits on social media for a reason"
The council has debated a motion after Josh MacAlister MP’s Safer Phones Bill has been watered down.
The motion has been debated in a full council meeting last night, asking the Leader to write to the Secretary of State for Education urging support for the original intentions of the Bill.
Rob Pavey is headteacher at Cheney School, he said: “It's entirely impossible to make sure there are no smartphones at all because children will bring them in their bags and there's no way that we can search every single bag.
“Even if we could, it wouldn't be reasonable to do so.
“It is possible to get pretty much complete compliance with them not being out or used but the total ban wouldn't work.”
Mr Pavey recognises some of the positive aspects of phones in schools, such as “your e-mail, your calendar, and the knowledge of the world at your fingertips.”
However, he says, “on balance, I think it'd be much better for children not to have the combination of a smartphone, a front facing camera, and social media, until certainly well beyond the 13th birthday. I'd probably push it as far as 15 or 16.”
He added: “There are age limits on social media for a reason, just like there are age limits on smoking, drinking, driving a car. You need a certain degree of maturity to be able to use it in an adult way.”