From : The Hurst School

To whom it may concern,

I feel compelled to write to you regarding the use of mobile phones in schools. I am a Headteacher of a Secondary School in northern Hampshire. I have 1015 students with 100 staff.  I was new in post in January 2021. When children returned in March 2021 after Covid lockdown it was clear that their dependency on their phones was significant. Behaviour was poor, leading to limited engagement in learning. Parental co-dependency with their children was evident with communication circumventing normal school procedures and was direct to children via mobile phones. Teachers were disempowered by parents not respecting school rules. Socially, even students as young as 11 were constantly on their phones at break and lunchtimes. Their social interaction centred on showing each other online videos, memes and messages, even when in school. Attendance was well below expected. This was not a conducive environment for building independent, well adjusted young people who were ready to learn.

Enforcing the school policy of “no phone use” was not working. I was looking for impact quickly and so I contacted Yondr to put in place a phone free school. This is a system by which phones are locked in pouches during the school day allowing students to retain their phones without access. Tutors use a base station to lock away the phones in the morning and teachers unlock the pouches at the end of the school day. The fact that students held onto their phones was important as they retained ownership and responsibility for them.

By June 2021 it was in place. This was not an easy process, parents and children understandably were resistant. We persevered and fought through the negative press and social media.

It was the best thing we could have done on many levels;

• Firstly this allowed staff to gain control of their classrooms. There was a shift as staff worked cohesively and consistently to put this in place.
• Lessened reliance on parents during the school day and began to allow children to build independence and confidence away from their parents.
• Better behaviour for learning was shown in classrooms. Without the constant reach for phones and the disruption that this brought, students visibily settled.
• Better engagement in learning. This also allowed us to focus on the quality of teaching and increasing challenge within the classroom.
• Behaviour at break and lunch improved. Students were interacting, building social skills and/or playing games. Two weeks after the phone free school introduction I had Year 8 students thanking me as they felt they had made better friendships. Even parents are now appreciative of the steps taken.
• Day to day mental health issues have reduced but these are still higher post-Covid. Further reductions rely on the school supporting and managing students on a longer term basis.

After 18 months, the school is transformed. Students are more respectful, becoming better learners and becoming more resilient. The school is building a more positive culture. The most tangible result of this is that our GCSE results for 2023 are 2% higher than last year at 4+, 5+ and 7+ English & Maths. In fact we are above pre-Covid 2019 figures, with a 5% increase in the 5+ E&M measure! This is bucking the trend of most schools nationally. We still have a challenge to fully realise the results that students deserve but we are on our way. 

Thank you for reading this.

Jayne McLaren

Headteacher

The Hurst School

Tadley

Hampshire

0118 981 7474