SA government hails success of public high school mobile phone bans

It’s one year since mobile phones were banned in public South Australian high schools. Despite the continued emergence of school fight videos, there’s a trend that shows it is working.

Critical incidents in schools involving social media have decreased by about two thirds after mobile phones were banned in public high schools a year ago.

Incident reporting data revealed there has been a 63 per cent decline in incidents involving social media so far in 2024 compared with the first two terms in 2023 before the phone ban, imposed by the state government, was in place.

Critical incidents involving social media include cyber bullying, circulation of explicit images or derogatory content posted online.

It’s been a year since mobile phones were banned in public South Australian high schools. Picture: iStock

Analysis of the data revealed the majority of the issues occurred off school premises and outside of school hours.

There have also continued to be cases of fights being recorded at schools on mobile phones and posted to social media.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said “the evidence is in” on the efficacy of the phone ban.

“Children are playing with each other, not on their phones and there has been a reduction in inappropriate behaviour,” Mr Malinauskas said.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says the mobile phone ban in schools has been a success. Picture: Ian Currie

Education Minister Blair Boyer is pleased to see the positive trend. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Education Minister Blair Boyer said the phone ban was helping in “ensuring schools are safe environments”.

“I’m so pleased to see the data reflecting a positive trend,” Mr Boyer said.

Feedback from teachers and principals has been that the ban has led to more classrooms where “teachers can teach and students can learn free from distractions”, Mr Boyer said.

Education Department chief executive Professor Martin Westwell said he was “pleased to hear anecdotal reports of changes in student behaviour reflected through increases in physical activity and play”.

There were also 54 per cent fewer instances of behavioural issues and 10 per cent fewer violent incidents so far this year compared with the same period 2023.

Mr Boyer said these reductions in incidents are “in no small way a by-product of us having taken phones out and banned them in schools”.

Underdale High School principal Mary-Lou Michael, whose school adopted the ban early last year, said she has seen a huge rise in participation in games, clubs and community groups since phones were locked away.

“Thinking that there’s going to be a phone message and I’ve got to check it, that’s not an issue now,” Ms Michael said.

The school has only had “a couple of incidents” when students did not comply with the ban this year, she said.

Year 7 student Cale Vigar, 13, said he has been “talking to other students more” since the ban.

“I’ve been making more friends and I’ve been socialising more,” the teen said.

It comes after Mr Malinauskas asked former chief justice of the High Court Robert French to conduct a legal examination into banning children under 14 from having social media accounts.

Mr Malinauskas has a meeting scheduled with Mr French on Wednesday “to get an update on his piece of work” and his findings are expected to be revealed in a report in spring.

He said if the report revealed the state cannot institute the changes to social media access, Mr Malinauskas would petition the federal government to implement a ban.