NEW: UK to Announce Cellphone Bans in Schools
Gillian Keegan, the UK Secretary of Education, will announce on Monday that smart phones will be banned in schools.
The ban will be in classrooms, but also when the children are on their breaks. The goal behind this is to reduce disruptions and help children focus on their studies.
Keegan went on to explain that the phones are a distraction and contribute to disruptive behavior and bullying.
Mobiles are to be banned from classrooms, the Education Secretary will announce on Monday.
Gillian Keegan will order schools to outlaw smartphones during lessons, and also in breaks, in a bid to end disruption and make it easier for pupils to focus.
A government source said new guidance would be issued to schools across England requiring them to take action.
‘Gillian believes that mobile phones pose a serious challenge in terms of distraction, disruptive behaviour, and bullying,’ the insider said. ‘It is one of the biggest issues that children and teachers have to grapple with so she will set out a way forward to empower teachers to ban mobiles from classrooms.’
Some schools already ban the use of mobiles, with pupils required to hand in their phones each morning – or face the punishment of a detention if they are caught using them.
In many ways, this might be a positive step toward a more focused education and maybe even less bullying. On the reverse side however, some parents are concerned about other issues that may arise. One of the biggest issues is emergency contact. Parents have more peace of mind if their child has a phone to call them while they are either at school or traveling there and back.
The UK isn’t the only country to ban cell phones at school. In June, Finland made the decision to ban phones from the classroom with the intent to raise test scores.
Shortly after that, the United Nations had a report recommending the banning of smart phones from classrooms. The simple fact that the UN said that should be alarming since they never get anything right.
About 2 years ago the previous Secretary of Education of the UK had tried to get phones out of schools and won initial support. His successor at the time decided against a ban.
Mobile phones are to be banned in schools as education secretary Gillian Keegan is set to announce a dramatic intervention – to the relief of millions of parents and teachers
via https://t.co/ubNuqOsdb0 good thing too https://t.co/86UwFdokuL— Juniper (@juniperwales) October 1, 2023
