Calls for smartphone ban in school classrooms
KIDS are using phones at school to photograph classmates in change rooms, watch pornography and send suicide taunts.
NSW
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KIDS are using phones at school to photograph classmates in change rooms, watch pornography and send suicide taunts.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham yesterday called on schools to ban smartphone use.
“There’s almost no reason students shouldn’t have their phones switched off and in their lockers while they’re at school,’’ he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“Although learning to work with technology is essential, phones can be a distraction from lessons and a platform for bullying unless schools have the right policies in place.’’
The Sunday Telegraph can today reveal a spate of sickening cyber cruelty among students, who are foiling school wi-fi filters by using the cellular data on their phones.
The recent suicide of 14-year-old schoolgirl Amy “Dolly” Everett, the face of Akubra, after cyber-bullying has failed to stop the hateful messages spread by cowardly teenagers on social media.
One girl was sent a message on Instagram last week stating: “Why don’t you do what Dolly did, we’d be better off without you.’’
Children have even started using the acronym “KYS” — short for “kill yourself’’, and sending links to suicide websites.
“Cyber cop’’ Susan McLean yesterday demanded a ban on phones in schools, warning that schools risk being sued by the parents of cyber-bullying victims over messages sent in school hours.
Ms McLean — who advises the federal government as a member of its Cyber Safety Working Group — said she was being flooded with requests from schools, parents and legal firms about the legality of phones in schools across Australia.
“I am seeing the most violent, vulgar, horrible comments you can imagine,’’ she told The Sunday Telegraph.
“Since Dolly Everett died, I’ve been inundated with parents wanting help because the messages their daughters are getting are, ‘Why don’t you do what Dolly did?’
“Lots of kids are being told to kill themselves, and sent links to suicide websites.’’
Ms McLean said students were being shown pornography and bestiality at school, on smart phones.
In one case, boys were watching porn on the school bus on their way to sport.
“I have kids being photographed in change rooms during sport,’’ she said.
“There should be no personal devices used during the school day — it has to be against the school rules.’’
Ms McLean said she was assisting a Tasmanian school where students had used school wi-fi to download an app and watch pornography on ipads during science classes.
“Schools risk being sued by parents over their failure to provide a safe place for students, both online and offline,’’ she said.
“Duty of care is a legal tenet applicable to every school in Australia.’’
Senator Birmingham said that “those running school systems need to lead from the front with firm policies that ensure the problem isn’t just left to hardworking teachers and principals’’.
“Access to phones can be a difficult issue for schools, as it is for parents, which is why clear policies and support to keep distractions out of the classroom are essential,’’ he said.
Federal eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said schools must have “robust policies and procedures in place around technology use’’.
Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg — who sits on the federal government’s internet safety working group — said smartphones must be banned in primary schools.
He said young children needing phones for “security purposes’’ should only be given “dumb phones’’ without internet access.