School principals say smartphone ban has brought peace to playgrounds

Smartphone and vaping bans in schools have been hailed for making students ‘better behaved’ and classrooms calmer.

Schools are reporting better behaviour by students since smartphones were banned a year ago. Picture: iStock

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Smartphone and vaping bans in schools have been hailed for making students “better behaved’’ and classrooms calmer.

Celebrating 12 months of the nationwide ban on smartphone use during school hours, federal Education Minister Jason Clare said students are now less distracted in class.

“Teachers tell me these bans are making a world of difference,’’ he said.

“There are less distractions in the classroom and playgrounds are noisy again – children are being children.

“This is helping teachers and parents and supporting healthier, happier children.’’

State and territory education ministers agreed a year ago to stop children using smartphones at school, after warnings that phones were distracting students during lessons and being used to bully classmates.

Mr Clare said 87 per cent of principals reported that children were less distracted, based on a NSW Education Department survey of 1000 school leaders.

A ban on smartphones has reduced distractions in Australian classrooms.

NSW Education Minister Prue Car had pre-empted the national ban by barring smartphones from schools within weeks of her appointment late in 2023.

Her department’s survey of principals a year later found at least 80 per cent felt students were better learners, less distracted and socialising more.

South Australia has reported a 63 per cent drop in critical incidents – such as bullying or mental health crises – involving social media, and 54 per cent fewer behavioural issues.

Suspensions related to vaping at South Australian schools had halved since the federal government banned the sale of vapes in corner stores, and got rid of child-friendly flavours like bubblegum and blueberry ice, six months ago.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said that “we have finally turned the corner on the scourge of vaping’’.

“This data shows the Albanese government’s vaping reforms are working to prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine,’’ he said.

The evidence of better behaviour in schools comes ahead of the federal government’s world-first legislation to set a minimum age of 16 for use of social media by December this year.

Australian Government Primary Principal Association president Pat Murphy said smartphones had caused “huge problems’’ in schools as students used them to send bullying messages.

“Principals have noticed less issues in the playground and around bullying outside school since the mobile phone ban 12 months ago,’’ he said.

Mr Murphy said principals were looking forward to tech companies enforcing Australia’s new age restrictions on social media.

“Some of our students are on social media when they shouldn’t be, and primary school children aren’t mature enough to deal with those platforms,’’ he said.

Australian Secondary Principals’ Association president Andy Mison said the phone and vape bans were “sensible measures that are supporting schools to progress learning, wellbeing and healthy development for our young people’’.

“Things have improved, and we also look forward to seeing the social media ban implemented effectively,’’ he said.

The federal government’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said 45 per cent of school-aged children have been “treated in a hurtful or nasty way online’’.

She said 12 and 13-year-olds starting high school account for one in three of all cyber-bullying complaints to the eSafety Commission.

She said 2978 valid cyber-bullying complaints had been received last year – with nearly half relating to primary school-aged students.

Girls were twice as likely as boys to report online bullying.

Mr Clare said on Friday that the latest hi-tech threat to children – the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce deepfake pornographic images – was “terrifying’’.

“I can’t think of anything worse for a young student, in particular young Australian women,’’ he said.

Mr Clare said that creating deepfake pornography is a crime carrying up to seven years in jail.

He said respectful relationships lessons in schools were educating young people, “in particular boys and men, to make it very clear to them … this is not on.’’