Have your say!

Last week’s newsletter featured information on mobile phones in schools. At present, our policy is that mobile phones should be kept in bags, switched off and not used. Whilst this works for the majority, for some students the temptation to use their phone can be very difficult to resist.

• Adults spend an average of 5 hours per day on their phones.
• Teenagers spend an average of over 7 hours per day on their phones.
• It can take an average of 20 minutes for a student to regain their focus after a nearby phone distraction (US Surgeon General, 2024).
• At the current usage rate, it is expected that young people today will spend 22 years on their phones during their lives!

One solution to remove the distraction of phones is to use pouches. Many schools have introduced these successfully and phones are locked in the pouch, using a magnet, on arrival to school. The pouch remains in the student’s bag during the day with the phone inaccessible and receiving no signal. As students leave site, they unlock the pouch to release their phone.

Students would not have access to any unlocking magnets during the school day. Having liaised with other schools, we can see the potential of phone pouches in improving the concentration as well as the mental health of students. Without phone access students will not be tempted to miss learning by requesting toilet visits so that they can check their phones. For the majority of students who already conform and do not access their phones during the day, the pouches should provide reassurance that others are not subverting the system.

Yondr were one of the first to market the pouches and now provide them across 48 countries. Their statistics show the following when schools have gone ‘phone free’:

We are keen to hear the thoughts of our families on this matter so please do discuss this with your child. If you wish to have your voices heard, please send an email to phonepouches@trinityhigh.com by Friday 12th June. Your questions and observations will be important to us as we make our decision in the coming weeks.