Could school mobile phone guidelines create two-tier system?

Some private schools, including the prestigious Gordonstoun Academy in Moray - already do not allow pupils to have their phones with them during the school day, while other state schools including the Royal High School in Edinburgh and the Gaelic School in Glasgow have  also brought in full bans.

However, under the Scottish Government guidance some headteachers could continue to allow phones to be used even in class.

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The education secretary has said there "are undoubtedly growing behavioural issues associated with mobile phones" on a visit to Stonelaw High School in Rutherglen said she hoped that restricting the use of phones would help improve pupils' performance in exams.

Stonelaw High School has introduced a 'nuanced' approach were pupils are not allowed to use the devices in class but can use them during break and lunchtime. The policy was adopted in consultation with pupils who had found some pupils were receiving 100 notifications an hour on their phones from social media while in school.

(Image: Colin Mearns)

Asked what differences she hoped would result from the new Scottish Government guidance, Ms Gilruth said: "Twofold. I hope it will improve behaviour but I am also hopeful it would improve attainment."

Ms Gilruth was pressed by The Herald if she was concerned a two tier system could emerge where some schools in middle class areas - such as the Royal High School brought in full bans - while others in less well areas did not.

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She said: "That's interesting. I have not picked this up thus far. We have just published the guidance and we will continue to monitor it...We don't want to see that disparity created along a socio economic divide.

"But chatting to the head teacher here, she really knows the school community, she knows the type of young people she has, and there is a real warmth and calmness when you walk into this school."

Lisa Kerr, the former principal of Gordonstoun, introduced a full ban on mobile phones last year.

She said at the time: "Asking children to have a phone in their pocket but not respond when it buzzes with a notification is like putting a bowl of M&Ms on their desk and asking them not to take one, even when no one is looking.

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"We only need to ask ourselves how hard we find it not to pick up our own phone, to understand how much harder it will be for a teenager whose pre-frontal cortex brain has not fully developed sufficient self-regulation."

Today her successor Simon Cane-Hardy told how it was "transformed" by the decision to ban mobile phones from use in the school day.

He said the change meant classes became noisier as "children spoke to each other rather than scrolling through their phone".

He also said removing the devices has had "enormous educational benefits", and he urged more schools to act.

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Music teacher Adam Csenki brought forward a petition to Holyrood in June to prohibit pupils from using phones during the school day, including at breaks and lunchtime.

He said anecdotal evidence suggested when pupils are on their phones at breaktime, they are not interacting with each other.

Last year Unesco, the UN's education, science and culture agency, warned that smartphones cause distraction, a risk to pupil privacy and can lead to cyberbullying.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also linked rising misuse of technology to the declining education performances of many countries, including Scotland. The OECD also found 31% of Scottish pupils admitting to being distracted by digital devices in most or every lesson.

In February, the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association's education committee carried out its annual survey and discovered 71% of teachers find mobile phones are having a poor impact on pupil behaviour. A further 90% said pupils had detachment problems, and 90 % also said they were concerned pupils had been messaging during lessons.

(Image: Colin Mearns) Stonelaw High School are banning the use of mobile phones in the classrooms. However, the school will continue to allow pupils to use their phones during break and lunchtime.

The survey reported that 80% of pupils were taking photographs on their phones during class, and 60% were worried about social media bullying, with phones in the classroom being a factor. Respondents said pupils had answered calls during lessons, viewed inappropriate content and had broadcast live recordings of lessons online, and almost all said their classes had been interrupted due to mobile phones.

Ms Gilruth was also asked by The Herald why the Scottish Government did not bring in legislation to ban phones outright in schools and introduce penalties such as fines for parents - given evidence that they distract from pupils learning and can have poor effects on pupils' mental health.

She said the Scottish Government does not have the power to do so.

"The 1980 Education Act [means] the delivery of all education in Scotland is the responsibility of local authorities," she said.

"It is a statutory responsibility for them. This is as close as we can get to it, in setting out expectations. I have been very clear publicly and in the document too that we support full school bans and if that is where head teachers want to go they will have my full support and they have the support of Cosla as well."

The Netherlands last year announced a blanket ban on mobile phones in school with some exceptions, including for students with medical needs or a disability, and for classes focused on digital skills.

Leanne McGuire, Glasgow City Parents' Group chairperson, said the reason why a ban in some schools might be difficult is that some children may need to use their phone to access educational information online they could not otherwise do because of a lack of school computers.

She also said that few parents in Glasgow had been pushing for a ban, though many supported one when asked.

Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “There is a danger of a two-tier system emerging in relation to mobile phones in classrooms, especially when the SNP's broken promise to provide a laptop or tablet to every pupil in Scotland means that some schools can't practically introduce a ban, without preventing necessary internet access.

‘’The knock-on effect could be a further widening of the poverty-related attainment gap, which the SNP promised to eradicate years ago.

‘’Students and staff in Scottish schools deserve proper support, and it is clear that this SNP government is failing to deliver.”

Professor Andrew Manches, chair of children and technology, at University of Edinburgh, said: 'Whether mobile phones have a positive or negative influence on learning in the classroom is complex, as is the range of factors influencing how practical it is to ban them.  

"For example, do schools have other devices learners can use? Is there a clear policy that teachers are confident with?

"Therefore, rather than focus on a polarised debate of 'ban versus free-use', it is likely better for learners if we focus more on how we take the best of what this technology can offer in the classroom whilst trying to limit the more negative effects.

"Here schools can do much to share, and critically reflect on different approaches: to be open about what works and what doesn't. And key to all this is helping learners themselves develop the skills to manage and benefit from what is an increasingly powerful resource for their education and future lives."