Parents petition Education Minister Sarah Mitchell to ban mobile phones in high schools

More than 20,000 parents are calling on high schools to ban mobile phones outright but Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has ruled it out. What do you think? Vote in our poll.

More than 20,000 people have now signed a petition calling on the state government to implement a blanket ban on mobile phones in public high schools so children actually spend recess and lunch talking to each other.

But Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has ruled out any policy change, doubling down on a 2018 decision to allow secondary school principals to set their own rules when it came to mobile phones in schools.

The petition was triggered by a student who said he had not been able to make new friends because his classmates spent break times glued to social media apps on their phones.

“My 12.5 year old son is struggling to enjoy high school. He was always happy in primary school and is very active and sporty,” his mother said in a social media post to the Facebook group North Shore Mums.

“But he says he hates high school as lunchtimes are so boring because everyone (is) on their phones all the time. He wants to run around and play tips or soccer.”

Students say they want to talk to each other rather than be glued to their devices.

Under current rules devised after a 2018 review into cell phones, the devices are banned in every single public primary school but the decision is left to the principal.

In response to the petition, Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said she would not issue a blanket ban for secondary schools because she trusted individual principals to get the balance right.

“High schools have the flexibility to set their own mobile phone policy, with the majority of high schools in NSW having some form of restriction on their use,” she said.

“While mobiles can be disruptive, students also need to learn how to use their devices responsibly. That is why we trust our high schools to get that balance right.”

North Shore Mums founder Rachel Chappell, who created the petition, said teachers, parents and student supported the ban.

“The big problem is the distraction of the phone. You’re meant to be in class learning, if there is something beeping in your pocket, that is not conducive to that,” she said.

“Also playtime is really important — I remember sitting around with my mates chatting about what is going on in their lives and if students don’t have the opportunity to do that because they’re looking at a phone, that’s a worry.”

An analysis of mobile phone bans by Carleton University in California in 2015 found students at schools which banned mobile phones performed 6 per cent higher in standardised tests at age 16. The positive effects of banning phones was even more pronounced for low-achieving students.

Experts say from a social perspective it makes sense to reduce digital device use.

Macquarie University digital learning expert Professor Garry Falloon said he backed school mobile phone bans but said parents also had a role to play in moderating school behaviour.

“I think over the past two years, so much interaction between students has been mediated by technology,” he said.

“Personally I am quite worried about the prolonged exposure and constant expectation of a response.

“We expect schools to solve all of society’s problems but there has to be some co-ordination here also with parents.

“It is not the technology, it is how it is used that is the problem. Cyber-bullying, issues around management of image, self esteem, trolling, all of the things which happen online, which can have significant negative psychological effects.”