‘Protecting a generation’: School phone bans pass the test, say principals

One year on, the statewide ban on mobile phones in schools has been near universally hailed as a success with almost 90 per cent of principals claiming it has reduced classroom distractions.

Principals like Ashfield Boys’ High School’s Dwayne Hopwood (centre) have been thrilled to see the impact of mobile phone bans on their students. Picture: Tom Parrish

The statewide ban on mobile phones in schools has been near universally hailed as a success by almost 1000 school leaders one year on, and principals say they’re relieved to be “protecting a whole generation” of children from screen addiction and distraction.

In a survey of 968 primary and high school principals conducted by the Department of Education, 95 per cent said they supported the mobile ban at their school.

Asked about the impact on students, 87 per cent of the 204 secondary school principals surveyed said the ban had reduced classroom distractions, and 68 per cent reported it was “a lot better”.

Social interactions between students have also improved, 86 per cent of principals said, and more than half said student learning at their school was “a lot better” post-ban.

Overall, four in five noticed improvements while only 19 per cent reported no change, a worsening of student learning, or declined to respond.

Ashfield Boys High School Year 11 students Isaiah Cham, Joe Dempsey-Martin, Ali Abilba and Zac Argiratos begrudgingly accepted the phone ban at first. Now they say it’s helped them cut down on their screen time. Picture: Tom Parrish

Support for the phone ban and its effects was generally lower in small, regional and rural schools, where between 91 and 93 per cent of principals voiced support for the policy and around three quarters said the ban had a positive impact on student learning.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the results prove his government made “the right decision” by bringing in a universal ban this time last year.

NSW Premier Chris Minns with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas at their governments’ combined Social Media Summit in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

“Without the distraction of a mobile phone in their pockets, students have been able to focus on their learning, while building stronger relationships with their classmates,” he said.

“This is also about supporting our state’s teachers to be able to teach engaged classrooms without the distraction of social media in every student’s pocket.”

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car said feedback from students and teachers also point to the “overwhelming success” of the ban and “happier and healthier” schoolkids.

The results come after News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign put an age-based ban for social media platforms on the national agenda, with legislation to be introduced to parliament this year.

This week high-profile Australians will disconnect from social media for Unplug24 – a national day of action to be held on Thursday October 24 to raise awareness of the harms social media can cause – with all Australians urged to join in by logging off.

NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Denise Lofts said the mobile phone ban has brought about an “overnight transformation” in schools – including her own at Ulladulla.

“Negative incidents went down, online incidents went down … it was so dramatic that it was almost unbelievable,” she said.

“This needed to be done. It’s protecting a whole generation that needed to be protected.”

At Ashfield Boys High School, students are made to deposit their phones in glass lockers for the whole of their school day. Picture: Julian Andrews

At Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney’s inner west, one in five students were spending their recess and lunch breaks with their heads in their phones.

With their devices now tucked away in glass lockers throughout the day, principal Dwayne Hopwood is instead contending with overwhelming demand for space to play on the school’s sports fields.

“The kinds of things that I saw on the playground immediately after the ban I hadn’t seen (before), and I’ve been doing this job at six schools for a lot of years now,” he said.

“Kids playing cards, kids playing board games, kids playing Dungeons and Dragons, lots of sport and handball … kids reading, kids playing and making music.”

School principals across the state say the policy has improved students’ focus in the classroom. Picture: Julian Andrews

The school’s PE co-ordinator has even credited the policy for record sporting success, Mr Hopwood said, after Ashfield Boys made the finals in seven local area competitions this year.

Year 11s and soccer championship winners Isaiah Cham, Joe Dempsey-Martin, Ali Abilba and Zac Argiratos admitted to spending up to five hours a day on social media or playing games on their phones prior to the ban.

“For the first couple of days you’re kind of stumped – you don’t know really know what to do (during breaks without phones),” Zac said.

Ashfield Boys’ principal Dwayne Hopwood. Photo: Tom Parrish

“You’ve got this extra hour in your day, so what do you fill it up with? It took us a couple of days to realise we have a field.”

Ali now tracks his screen time and has reduced his mobile phone usage back to an hour and a half per day.

“Because I was spending so much time on it at school, I realised that I was also spending equally – if not way more time – on my phone at home. I’m conscious about it now, so I’ve cut down on my hours,” he said.