Following research and consultation with both parents and students, The Queen’s School, Chester, has recently announced plans to introduce a phone-free school day, supported by the use of pouches. Head of the school, Joanne Keville, explains how the decision has been driven by concerns around “focus fragmentation” and student wellbeing, with the aim of creating a more distraction-free learning environment.
Recently, Baroness Jacqui Smith confirmed that the government will amend the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to give legal force to a phone-free school day in England. Ofsted will assess school policies as part of every inspection. The direction of travel is now settled.
For colleagues who have not yet acted, the question is no longer whether to introduce a phone-free policy. It is how to introduce one that does more than satisfy a regulator. A ban delivered by statute will get phones out of pockets. Whether it delivers the benefit a school is hoping for is a different conversation and that is the one I want to have here.
At The Queen’s School, we made the decision to go phone-free during this academic year, well before the most recent statutory direction was confirmed. Since the start of summer term, pupils place their phones in lockable pouches on arrival and unlock them on departure. The policy was the result of months of consultation with parents, staff and pupils and was championed by our Deputy Head of Pastoral, Ashley Eaton, who joined us in September…