He British Government launched comprehensive plan to ban the use of mobile phones in schools during school hours, with the aim of minimizing distractions and improving behavior in classrooms.
This measure, announced by the Education deparmentprovides new guidance to directors to support the prohibition of the use of mobile phones, including during break times.
Why did they ban the use of cell phones in schools?
The initiative is based on the growing concern for the negative impact of mobile phone use in the educational performance and well-being of students. According to the communications services regulator Ofcom, upon reaching the 12 years old, 97% of children have their own mobile phone, leading to problems such as online bullying, distraction, and disruption in the classroom.
He said that the UNESCO last year urged to ban smartphones in schoolslinking them to reduced educational achievement and highlighting how excess screen time negatively affects children’s well-being. Schools will receive support to implement the banwith examples of varied approaches including banning phones entirely on school grounds, collecting phones upon arrival at school, and securely storing devices throughout the school day.
Besides, The ministry reported that this guide addresses parents’ concerns revealed by the ParentKind National Parent Surveywhere 44% of parents expressed concern about the time their children spend on electronic devices, a figure that rises to 50% among parents of high school students.
The reason given by the United Kingdom Minister of Education
“Schools are places to learn and mobile phones are, As minimum, an unwanted distraction in the classroom. “We are providing our hard-working teachers with the tools to take action to help improve behavior and enable them to do what they do best – teach,” said Education Minister Gillian Keegan.
While for its part, the Secretary of Technology, Michelle Donelan, He stressed that “growing up in today’s digital world offers immense opportunities, but this should not come at the expense of the wellbeing or education of our children. That is why we have passed cutting-edge legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world so that young people are online,” he stressed.
At the same timeTom Bennett, senior behavior advisor for the departmentadded that “mobile phones may be ubiquitous, but we have a strong and growing understanding of how harmful they can be to a child’s social and educational development. And it is the less fortunate who suffer the most.”
Finally, Jason Elsom, CEO of Parentkindsaid that “the Government is right to take decisive action on phone use in schools, with our research indicating that 44% of parents are concerned about the time their children spend on electronic devices and more than seventy-five percent of parents support a ban on phones in schools.”
This movement puts England in line with actions taken by other countries such as France, Italy and Portugal.
Source: Ambito
