Mobile phones are now banned in all NSW public schools. Photo: File.
Students in public high schools across NSW have had to turn off their mobile phones and put them out of sight from the first day of Term 4 (Monday 9 October).
The ban on the use of phones in public high schools fulfils a key election promise made by the NSW Government and will complement the ban in place in NSW public primary schools.
It came into force after consultation with teachers, students and parents and applies during class, recess and lunch. Students are still permitted to carry a phone while travelling to and from school.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car says the ban creates a “level playing field” across all NSW public schools and allow students to focus on their learning.
“It will help to provide more productive classrooms for students and teachers, reducing opportunities for distraction and cyberbullying,” she says.
“What we’ve heard from schools that already have bans in place gives me real confidence that this common sense measure will improve student learning and social development outcomes.”
The NSW Department of Education offered schools several options for implementing the mobile phone ban, including:
- Phones in lockers: Students do not carry the phones with them; they must be kept in a locker for the whole school day.
- Off and away: Phones are ‘off and away’ in classrooms (typically kept in the student’s school bag). Phones are not used for the duration of the school day.
- Locked phone pouch: Students place their phone in a magnetically locked pouch and are unable to use their phone. Pouches are magnetically unlocked at the end of the school day.
- Phones collected at the front office: Students deposit their phone at the school’s front office at the start of the school day and collect it at the day’s end (or when leaving the school premises).
Regardless of which option schools have chosen, principals and teachers can still authorise the use of mobile phones for educational purposes or as part of a reasonable adjustment for student learning and wellbeing, such as monitoring blood sugar levels for students with diabetes. Schools will also retain the discretion to determine how they enforce the mobile phone ban and respond to any breaches.
Following consultation with their local communities, most schools opted for zero or low-cost solutions, like keeping phones in lockers or off and away.
Ashfield Boys High relieving principal Linda Henry said her school had chosen the phones in lockers option, which she was sure was going to have a positive outcome.
“The lockers are a good investment and a permanent thing. Some students expressed relief that their phones are being locked away – it will be out of sight and out of mind,” she said.
“Our students recognise mobile phone use is a habit and distraction, and this will help them focus on their learning and interacting with their friends.”
