00:05The band's been in since January 2025, but we were probably a year, year and a half prior to
00:12that aware that the current setup that we had for mobile phone access was not working. We had quite
00:17significant interruption to class learning. The lesson was being interrupted with phones going
00:22off, pupils accessing their phones when they shouldn't be, and relationships breaking down,
00:26staff having to stop a lesson and have that kind of conversation. We were also aware of the kind of
00:32social aspect in terms of pupils not being necessarily very kind to each other, between
00:37Snapchat messaging or filming. We had filming in classes, so we had some staff being filmed.
00:43We had young people not keen to go to the toilets in fear of mobile phones being out,
00:48being underneath the cubicles, over the cubicles, as well as obviously the research that was telling
00:53us the amount of time that young people were spending connected online, not good for their
00:58well-being. So there was, I suppose, building evidence that the current setup that we had
01:03with mobile phone access wasn't working. We did spend a bit of time, we did a lot of homework,
01:07we spoke to pupils, we knew this was not going to be a popular decision. We spoke to our parent
01:13council, they were hugely supportive. We used our parents' meetings as an opportunity to do surveys
01:18with parents, and they were hugely supportive as well. I think they were very aware of the
01:23addictive element and how much time young people were spending online and accessing their phones.
01:28We knew that, as I say, it wasn't necessarily going to be very popular, but we made sure
01:32that everybody was clear on what the expectations were, which is why the ban was a complete ban
01:38across the school, both in the building and in the surroundings. So we could be clear that
01:43we were safeguarding our young people. That's quite a big aspect for us too, that they're not
01:47going to be filmed during the school without their consent or in the toilet, so it's anywhere
01:51on the school premises. What we've seen in action is a very noisier environment at social
01:56time, which is lovely. We've now got young people sitting in the canteen talking to each other.
02:01We had some of the seniors in the cafe wanting cards, board games. At lunchtime they can leave
02:09the school grounds, obviously they go up the street for lunch, they can access their phones then,
02:13but they're quite clear on that distinction when they're back in the school. Role model this has
02:17adults in the building, it's a mobile free zone for all the adults in school. So that's
02:22sometimes needing wee reminders as well, that with staff, mobile phones should be off and
02:27away as well during the school day. And indeed when we have visitors, we do encourage them
02:31to support the mobile phone policy as well where they can, because I think it sends a good
02:37message that as adults we're also role modelling that. And it's good for our wellbeing that we're
02:41not necessarily feeling the need to be connected all the time. It's made a marked difference
02:45in the classroom. We just don't have those interruptions. It's the reason why we ask
02:49for phones. So the pupils do have their phones on them, but they're off and in their bag.
02:53We don't allow them to have them in their pockets because then we still have that interruption
02:57of notifications or vibrations where they feel they need to kind of check their phone.
03:01So staff have noticed, as have we when we're out and about around the school, that we just
03:06don't have that interruption to learning. And pupils have appreciated that because for one
03:10people's phone to go off, the whole lesson is stopped and interrupted. So it's something
03:15that the pupils appreciate. It just makes a better learning environment for everyone.
03:18We were quite surprised, I suppose, at the number of people who were in touch with us after,
03:24fellow headteacher colleagues who were keen to kind of hear how we went about it. And
03:27I do think it's important that schools take their own, because every school's got a slightly
03:32different culture and process of doing things. So I was very happy to share what we did.
03:36And we took, once we kind of got to the decision of a ban, we took probably about three or
03:41four
03:41months to get to that point. It wasn't something we did very quickly. We wanted to take the school
03:46community with us. And we did have some colleagues from other schools who came to see us, to see
03:51what it looks like, which is a kind of odd thing to come and see. But actually, I suppose
03:56just to see how the pupils were at social times, interacting with each other and just going
04:02about their daily business without having the need to be checking their phones.
04:05But, you know, the digital world is going to be very significant. So we do have the
04:09Chromebooks where they can still access digital learning, but it's just not done through their
04:14phones, where we then move into the social media side. You know, they'd asked us to get
04:17some card games and Uno and various things. It's really lovely. And that was seniors we just
04:22passed there, heading down to the cafe, where they're just standing, chatting with each other
04:26in the morning. And I think that kind of social side of things is really important. If we're
04:30preparing our young folk for the world of work and being citizens into adult life, I don't
04:36want them fixated on their phones or texting, texting would be the only way of communicating.
04:40I think that kind of verbal communication and connecting with each other is really important.
04:45What I think I've loved about the mobile phone ban is previously, I think when you walk down
04:50the corridor, lots of kids are on their phones and not talking to each other and playing games.
04:55But actually now we walk down the corridor and everybody's talking to each other. Being a teacher
04:59here for such a long time, it's lovely to see how well they've adapted to that transition, but also
05:03I guess how little the mobile phones are missed, I think, by the general population. It still took a
05:08wee while to get used to. I definitely think it's had massive benefits. There are things along the way,
05:13which I think were kind of, I guess, mini challenges and mini hurdles or things that we needed to think
05:17out how it might work for individual pupils. But my role is guidance. We liaison with home,
05:22but we also kind of work with kids who maybe have medical challenges, maybe kind of have like a
05:26diabetic kind of monitor or maybe are young carers or need to kind of keep in touch with home. It's
05:32about thinking about kind of ways around that. For some kids they need to have their mobile phone
05:36because maybe it's connected to their diabetic monitor, but just kind of having, I guess, clear
05:40communication with home and with the young person about what that looks like and about, you know,
05:45kind of using, going to the medical room to look at it. But also I think for kind of some
05:49of our pupils
05:49who are young carers about knowing that they might need to have access to their phone,
05:53but thinking about how we can, how we can do that in an appropriate way, but also, also utilising
05:59the school office and the guidance team as well in order to able to support them with that.
06:07I kind of enjoy the phone ban because I think like when you walk down the corridors,
06:11people aren't like, um, unsociable anymore. They're kind of all talking and doing things together.
06:16Then when we introduced the phone ban, there was more clubs available at lunch. So it was better
06:20for people to meet others. Well, I think like behaviour in class has kind of changed. Like
06:25people were more focused and they weren't really like, um, misbehaving as much. And I think it's
06:30really improved at the school. I feel like I'm not on my phone as much as at home to like
06:36before.
06:38Without it like beeping or going off in class and stuff, it's easy to concentrate. It seems that like not
06:43a lot of people are on their phones anyway, and everyone seems more concentrated and stuff.
06:48And people like play board games at lunchtime and like play TIG and stuff around the school.
06:53So you're more sociable with other people. Um, I remember everyone being really upset.
06:59Everyone just wanted their phones. People were like complaining to the school, but we all,
07:03we also knew that we couldn't do anything about it. It was the school's decision, not ours.
07:07But once it came in, it just, everyone just sort of like, we're like, yeah, we just sort of have
07:13to do it.
07:14So in school, as I said, I didn't really go on my phone, so I didn't really find it that
07:17major,
07:18but my friends used to go on their phones quite a lot. So for, so like my friends speak to
07:23me more
07:23than they did before. Outside of school, I think it's still the same, maybe. I think after school,
07:30I go on my phone a bit more just to catch up on like whatever notifications I got during school.
07:34And that, yeah, during classes and during break and lunch and that, my friends,
07:38like just people are speaking more. I walk around and no one's really like going on their phones,
07:42not playing games anymore. So I think overall it's just, school's a lot more sociable with each
07:47other now. People still find their way around it. So like, while most do like keep their phones off,
07:54you will sometimes see people like, like trying to like sneak a look at it or something. And then,
08:00um, I think another con is that a lot of people used to listen to music while studying,
08:05but we also can't do that anymore. Feel the temptation to go on my phone anymore. And with
08:10other people, people who used to go on their phones a lot, they're doing better in school
08:14now because of it. Um, cause they're not like on their phones anymore and they're not like
08:19distracting the teachers with their phones and teachers don't have to say like, oh,
08:22put your phone away and disrupting class time and that. So I think it's just overall a lot better.
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