23 May 2024
St Albans hit the national news headlines this week after the St Albans Primary Schools Consortium – which brings together 20 out of 24 primary headteachers from across the district – called on parents not to let their children have a smartphone before they are 14.
It follows months of campaigning by the Smartphone-Free Childhood WhatsApp movement, which includes groups based in various St Albans schools.
Following discussions between local headteachers, the unprecedented decision has been taken to urge parents not to bow to pressure and buy their child a smartphone until they are in Year 9 at secondary school.
In a letter sent to primary pupils’ parents across the district, the Consortium said: “We understand the importance of being able to contact your child as they become more independent, walking to and from school, in order to give you peace of mind and for children to be able to call in emergencies.
“Children’s phones do not need to have access to the internet in order for you to keep them safe however.
“The use of smartphones is now a feature of daily life for most adults and over the last few years the age at which children are given their first smartphone has dropped significantly. We know that in our schools some children as young as Key Stage 1 have smartphones. Whilst smartphones can be a very helpful piece of technology for adults, they can equally expose children to a number of negative risks.”
They highlighted the risks posed to youngsters who are in possession of their own smartphone:
- They are highly addictive, with the lasting effects on young and developing brains being similar to that of gambling.
- Smartphones have been linked to poor mental health, depression and low self-esteem, especially in young teenagers.
- They expose children to harmful content including pornography, grooming, bullying and material that is not age appropriate.
- By changing the way children’s brains develop and fundamentally affecting their ability to concentrate they reduce attention spans.
- Smartphones rob children of their childhood. Time spent on a device reduces time spent playing, interacting and developing vital social skills.
The headteachers added: “To show our professional support for this campaign, we encourage all parents to delay giving children a smartphone until they reach the age of 14, opting instead for a text/call phone alternative if necessary.
“As headteachers, we have committed to promoting our own schools as smart-phone free.
“We believe we can all work together across St Albans and join the growing movement across the country to change the ‘normal’ age that children are given smartphones. However, to be successful, this movement relies on you, our children’s parents, to resist the pressure from your children and their peers and hold back on giving your children smartphones until they are 14. In this way you will be working together with a wide network of parents and schools to re-set the expectation and remove social peer pressure.
“Our children’s futures are so important, to you and to us. In a world where fast-changing technology is actually impacting the development of our children’s brains, it is up to us to stand up for them, and their futures. If not us, then who?”
The story was first reported exclusively on the St Albans Times website before being picked up by The Times newspaper. BBC Breakfast and The Today Programme.
The nationwide Smartphone Free Childhood movement welcomed the actions of St Albans’ headteachers.
They said: “In just over three months – with zero preparation or planning – this movement has helped spark a new national conversation, and put the issue on the political agenda like never before.
“But the news that headteachers in St Albans have come together
to make schools across their city smartphone-free is a monumentally magical moment for this movement.
“Inspired by the Smartphone Free Childhood movement, 20 of the 24 primary schools in the city have signed a letter asking all parents at their schools not to give their children smartphones until the age of 14.
“Schools are only one part of the complex smartphone puzzle, but we know that they have immense power to shape social norms in their communities. So this pioneering move genuinely has the potential to change the lives of a generation of children in the city.
“It’s tangible proof that with courageous and creative leadership, real change is possible; in our communities, in our cities and in our society.
“Whilst the Government flip-flops, dilly-dallies and cozies up to the big tech lobbyists, these pioneering heads are taking matters into their own hands to protect our children.
“St Albans we salute you! This is what leadership looks like.
This is what change looks like.️ This is what a brighter future for our children looks like.”
Local mum and Rites for Girls Facilitator, Sophia Hermens, who runs Girls Journeying Together groups for Y6 and Y7 girls (www.ritesforgirls.com/facilitator/sophia-hermens/) said she welcomes the stance taken by the St Albans Primary Schools Consortium.
“A consistent policy from local schools takes the pressure off parents, who are often dealing with pushback from their children and are worried that their child is the only one without a phone and therefore different.
“At Rites for Girls, we regularly see girls as young as 10 exhausted by the pressure to curate their image on social media, to conform to unrealistic online beauty standards. This can lead only too quickly to anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm. Our year-long Girls Journeying Together groups are tech-free and give girls the space and time every month to
practise being exactly who they are without having to change themselves to fit in.”
St Albans resident Alisa Khakhar, who is mum to a Year 8 daughter who doesn’t have a smartphone, said: “I am thrilled that the St Albans primary heads are leading the way on this and sending such a clear message to their communities of parents. ”The parent WhatsApp groups across the country are reacting in masses and now looking to St Albans as an example. I am liaising with my daughter’s secondary Beaumont School on this and I encourage all St Albans secondaries to get behind our primary heads and reinforce this message for their current and incoming pupils and parents.”
Gabrielle Farran, a St Albans parent and clinical psychologist who has supported children and their parents cope with mental health difficulties, said: “As a parent, I found the letter from the St Albans Primary School Consortium so impressive and an inspiring example of the leadership in our local schools which makes St Albans such an attractive place to live for families.
“I work in the field of health where the ideal interventions are preventative, stopping disease or pain before they ever begin. This looks to me like a brilliant example of headteachers enacting a preventative educational intervention – working to make their schools safe, healthy and conducive to learning, and keeping the negative effects of pornography, online bullying and attention-decay out.
“So often, our children hear the word ‘online’ before the word ‘community’, but this is an example for them of a real-life, local community acting powerfully to protect the health and happiness of its children, with parents and schools looking to stand together on their behalf. Our children are lucky to live in a place with such strong community capital – but it’s not down to luck really, it’s down to leadership from school leaders and love from parents. I think it sends a really powerful message to children about their value, even if they don’t like having to wait for a smartphone.”
Individual schools have responded to the letter in different ways. The Spiral Partnership Trust, which oversees both Fleetville Infants and Nursery School and Fleetville Junior School, said it is not introducing a ban on smartphones and accused parents of “lobbying” over the issue.
CEO Marcus Cooper said: “As you will appreciate, our schools are busy educating your children and so, for this reason may I ask that there is no ‘lobbying’ of schools. As with all viewpoints there will be differences of opinions and attitudes between parents and arbitrating between these views is not the role of the school. Our role is to inform and educate parents and their children on a range of issues, both educational and those needed to keep safe in the modern world.
“Ultimately, as a trust we believe this is a decision which is in the hands of parents and carers rather than a school. Our role is to ensure you are in a position to make an informed decision.
“We are aware that for many parents this will be a difficult decision as many of you will have already entered into
contracts with telephone companies, but I would encourage you to read the letter, the links provided and explore further into research and then make an informed decision.”
The Fleetville Junior School Smartphone Free Community WhatsApp group issued a cautious response to the letter: “We are disappointed by the letter issued by the Spiral Trust which accompanied the very constructive letter sent by the consortium of St Albans headteachers.
“We are contacting the Trust to ask them to reconsider their stance and to enter into a dialogue with us, given that the best interests of our children are our shared priority.”
