A group of 49 schools in Solihull, West Midlands, are urging parents to reconsider buying smartphones for their Year 7 children. Led by Alderbrook School's headteacher, Tom Beveridge, the initiative emphasizes the harmful effects of excessive smartphone use on mental health, learning, and relationships. The school has introduced a voluntary phone hand-in scheme for Year 7s, with over half participating and reporting feeling 'less stressed'. The scheme will become compulsory next year and may be extended to older years.
Mila is among Year 7 students choosing to put her device in a mobile phone storage locker provided by Alderbrook School
More than half the year group have handed in their phones, with some pupils telling the BBC they already felt "less stressed".Mr Beveridge said in recent years the school had seen some of the harms from excessive smartphone use and wanted to take action. Tom Beveridge said he hoped in the future it would become a social norm that parents did not buy smartphones for their children
Another pupil, Elliot, said his phone was a "really big distraction" and he had chosen to hand it in so he did not have to "think about it all day". "The hope is that sooner or later it will be the social norm not to buy a smartphone until young people are at least 14, maybe older.But at the moment parents, like Afifa Tufail, do feel a lot of pressure.They have "dumb" phones but she said she worried about them being "left out or standing out" for not having a smartphone.
She said she had also experienced the "darker side" of the technology when last year a man had airdropped inappropriate photos to her at a bus stop.Claire Smith is principal of Tudor Grange Academy in Solihull, which is a phone-free school
SMARTPHONES STUDENTS MENTAL HEALTH LEARNING SCHOOL POLICY
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