Smart Mobile Phones and Devices at Stephen’s

At St Stephen’s, we are very aware of the ever-growing research of the impact of screen time on young people. 

As many of you will be aware, the school has an extensive learning programme to educate our children on the possible safeguarding issues around the use of mobile phones and other devices.  In addition, parent workshops and information in our newsletters are there to support you with online safety. Please see this link for our most recent parent workshop.

We do not encourage any child to bring in a smart mobile phone or device into school. However, if a parent chooses to give their child a phone/device, we have a strict policy to ensure that children do not use them in any area of our school, including the playground. Currently, Year 5 and Year 6 children bring their phones/devices into the office at the beginning of the day and collect them as they leave. The only exception would be when a device is required for medical purposes and a medical professional provides evidence that it is essential. Please note, we do not allow children to wear smartwatches, with access to the internet, in school. 

Before Easter, the Governing Body had a comprehensive discussion about our current policy and how we could protect our children further from the potential dangers associated with phones/ devices. As a school, we always believe we could do more and so we are setting up a governors’ working party to discuss next steps.  As part of the work completed by this committee, a full community consultation will be completed and we look forward to hearing your opinions and how we can support you further.