Smartphone free childhood

Did you know that 94% of primary school parents think smartphones are harmful? (Parentkind nationwide poll April 24). As a school, we endorse the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign.

The use of smartphones is now a feature of daily life for most adults and over the last few years the age at which children are given their first smartphone has dropped significantly. Smartphones can be a very helpful piece of technology for adults, and when closely supervised and for a particular purpose, can be a fantastic tool for children. However, research shows that they can expose children to significant safeguarding risks in addition to a number of other negative implications.

Smartphones risks to children include:

• Highly addictive, with the lasting effects on young and developing brains being similar to that of gambling.
• Linked to poor mental health, depression and low self-esteem, especially in young teenagers.
• Expose children to harmful content including pornography, grooming, bullying and material that is not age appropriate.
• Reduce attention spans – they are changing the way children’s brains develop and fundamentally affecting their ability to concentrate.
• Rob children of their childhood: time spent on a device reduces time spent playing, interacting and developing vital social skills.

Together with Cranmore Infant School, we ask you to delay giving your child a smartphone until the end of Junior school Year 6. 

There is also a West Midlands Parent Pact which you can sign up to anonymously, and see how many other parents in the local area are also delaying giving their child a smart phone.

Please remember our school does not allow children to bring in smart phones or other smart devices including watches.

More information:

There is a growing movement across the country to change the ‘normal’ age that children are given smartphones. However, to be successful, this movement relies on you, our children’s parents, to resist the pressure from your children and their peers and hold back on giving your children smartphones.  In this way you will be working together with a wide network of parents and schools to re-set the expectation and remove social peer pressure.

As a group of headteachers leading Solihull schools, we are concerned about the impact of smart phones on our children and young people. We have started to discuss how we can work together as a local community to share information with families and to make a change that means that children having smart phones is not the 'norm'.

There has been a lot in the press recently around the impact of smart phones, as well as proposals by politicians to introduce legislation that bans mobile phones from all schools and limits social media use by young people. As a group of headteachers, we want to encourage everyone to PAUSE and think about the impact of giving smart phones to young people, because:

• P: Prevents Real Play – Smartphone use can stop children from socialising and engaging in imaginative or active play
• A: Attention Span – Smartphones reduce focus and attention, hindering learning
• U: Undermines Mental Health – Overexposure to social media and screens can negatively affect children's emotional and mental well-being.
• S: Safety Risks – Smartphones expose children to safeguarding issues, including cyberbullying and inappropriate content.
• E: Emotional Impact – The addictive nature of smartphones can lead to mood swings, sleep disruption, and over-reliance on digital validation.

We understand that most children who are towards the end of primary school or at secondary school already own a smart phone, and we are committed to educating these children about the safe use of smart phones. We also understand that many families rely on mobile technology for anything from an electronic bus pass to checking homework at the end of a school day. This is why we are committed to collectively looking at solutions that are appropriate for our own school, while also working with other agencies to address this issue.

There are a number of parent-led organisations that advocate collective action on this issue. You may be interested in their websites, each containing some excellent resources, as well as the opportunity to sign parent pledges on the use of smart phones:

Thinking about smart phones? CLICK HERE to watch this information video	https://www.channel4.com/programmes/swiped-the-school-that-banned-smartphones