Prue Car: Mobile phone ban will curb school fights, NSW Education Minister says

Banning mobile phones during school hours will deny the offenders the opportunity of staging and filming fights for social media, NSW Education Minister Prue Car writes.

Each day, parents and carers entrust the care of their children to our schools in the expectation that they can learn and grow in a safe environment.

Thankfully, for most students and staff in NSW schools this is the case.

Nevertheless, the rise in violence, or at least our exposure to it, is a wider societal problem. It’s one that we need to address, particularly given mobile phones and social media appear to be providing a means for thrill seekers to perform in front of the cameras. 

Let me be clear: every student has a right to learn in a safe environment and every teacher has a right to teach in a safe environment.

Our government takes this seriously and that is why we have several measures to ensure our schools are safe and productive learning environments. 

NSW Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car. Picture: Tim Hunter.

A mobile phone ban will be in place in all public schools by Term 4. Banning mobile phones during school hours will deny the offenders the opportunity of staging and filming

fights. High schools with a mobile phone ban in place have seen a decrease in this sort of behaviour.

Parents across the state are concerned about the impact that devices like smartphones are having on not only their children’s learning, but also their behaviour

and development. 

The Minns government is also committed to recruiting an additional 250 counsellors in schools over the next four years. This will be an important step in reducing the

ratio of students to counsellors and a necessary support for children who are struggling. 

And by the beginning of next term, we will have a draft new behaviour policy out for consultation. If teachers have the right tools in place, then they can set the correct

parameters for student behaviour which in turn will lead to positive behaviour and a more respectful and safe school environment. 

Taken together, I believe these measures will help ensure our schools are safe, respectful environments where our children can thrive.