00:01We're here today with Matt Ranshaw, the headteacher of Sir John Thurisbury Community College in Burnley,
00:06who have, from September, enacted a no mobile phone policy.
00:11Matt, could you tell us a bit more about the policy and how it came about?
00:15Yeah, certainly. So we realised that young people have this mobile phone, which is a major distraction for them.
00:23And in line with a lot of schools across the country,
00:26we took the view that we would support families by asking children to keep their phones out of sight and locked away during the school day.
00:35So from about May last year, we really strengthened that policy and asked children to hand their phone in at the beginning of the day.
00:44And then from September, we've been using these mobile phone pouches,
00:48which the children have to bring to school and the phone goes in the pouch so that they can't access it through the school day.
00:55Many of our families choose to leave the phone at home, but some of them, they have these pouches which they use.
01:03And really, it's had such an impact in terms of the attention in classes,
01:08things like children asking to leave the lesson and also kids feeling an awful lot safer and part of what's happening in school,
01:17because they're just present in the room rather than potentially distracted by a silent notification that might have been going off in their pocket or in their bag.
01:25And how has the feedback from parents been?
01:28It's been really positive. The parents have been very supportive and we're incredibly grateful that we have such a supportive community.
01:35But I think when we've spoken to them, they actually recognised that this is something that was almost spiralling really for young people nationally.
01:45We know there's a big mental health issue across the country around children having access to sort of unmonitored and unmetered content online.
01:54And just taking the phones away in school has helped parents to provide that sort of supportive position really around what we're doing in school.
02:04And that's really helped them. So they've been very positive and very, very supportive of what we're trying to achieve.
02:09Well, we've discussed off camera, didn't we, about habits and perhaps the habit of having a mobile phone or not having one can then transfer when the children go home.
02:21I think that's probably true. I mean, I think teenagers are very, very used to being tied to the phones and some of that is healthy.
02:27Some of that is about connectivity. It's to do with being able to access things online.
02:32We have things like homework apps that children use and there's an awful lot of content that's useful.
02:36But I think that it's got to be something which is part of rather than the only provision.
02:42And so what we've tried to do is say that in school, we don't want to see them and they have to be locked away or left at home.
02:50And I think that that is causing a break in habits.
02:53Now, what's happening in many schools that have been doing this for longer is they're seeing a real drop in screen time across,
03:01not just in school hours, but outside of them as well.
03:04So it's been a really positive move for us.
03:07And it really ties in with our with our sort of aspects and in our values around respect and around belonging
03:13and giving the children the chance to take that responsibility for themselves.
03:17Thank you, Mr. Enshaw.
03:19OK, so as the children come into school, you can see the unlock the unlock points here.
03:25The pouch might already be locked. So they just pop that on and it opens up like a security tag.
03:31And then the phone will go in the bag and seal it up. And that's the end of that for the day.
03:38And the great thing is that's now their responsibility to keep that out of sight.
03:42They can't access it just the same as a security tag in a shop.
03:45And then end of the day, they'll come out and just unlock and then hang on to the pouch until tomorrow.
03:52And the phone is then available and they can use it overnight and into the morning before they come back to school.
03:59So really, it becomes part of their daily routine coming in and out of school.
04:03Yeah, definitely. And I think the thing about it is that for me, it's about their taking responsibility.
04:09So this really helps with our idea around respect because it's about the children saying,
04:13I know I'm not allowed my phone. I know it's something that the school are trying to help me with.
04:18So I shall either leave it at home or I'll use the pouch system that we've got.
04:23And as you can see there, it's a pretty robust system. And these are used quite widely across lots of schools in the country now.
04:30We're lucky because of the way our site is, we've got this long driveway where the children can't get out here during the daytime anyway.
04:38So it's a very secure site. And so it's not until the end of the day when they're leaving school,
04:42that they can come down the drive to be able to access the unlock points.
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