20 May 2024
The St Albans Primary Schools Consortium – which brings together all primary headteachers from across the district – has issued a joint letter calling 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 all 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?”
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 banning smartphones.
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.”
