Chesterfield secondary school welcomes school mobile phone ban - and supports proposals to limit social media use for under 16s

Students at Brookfield Community School have been banned from using mobile phones at school for a number of years due to concerns over the impact of smartphones on the ability to focus and the quality of interactions with others.

Now, the Chesterfield secondary school has welcomed the newly issued government guidance banning children across the country from using phones at school – including during breaks between lessons and lunchtime.

Keith Hirst, Headteacher at Brookfield Community School, said: “It is our belief that phones should be banned for the entire school day.

"We recognise how addictive phone usage can be and feel that by ensuring students have an enforced break from any screen time between 8.15-15.00, then this can only benefit them in terms of focussing on aspects of school and learning, in encouraging positive interactions with friends and staff, and in helping to improve concentration levels of young people.

"If students were able to use their phones at break times, there would be the likelihood that during lesson time, their full attention might not be on their learning, but on their next online interaction.”

The mobile phone rules at Brookfield are very straightforward and any students who use a smartphone for travelling to and from school, are asked to switch off their phones and put them in their bags for the duration of the school day.

Mr Hirst, who has been the headteacher at Brookfield Community School since June 2019, has explained that the ban has been well received across the school community, with many students deciding to leave their phones at home.

He said: "Parents have welcomed the ban, and support the school in this decision. A growing number of students choose not to bring a phone at all.”

Mr Hirst has further commented on proposals to ban young people in the UK from using social media – a measure proposed after a similar ban was introduced in Australia.

He added: “We would support any measures introduced by government that limit the access to social media for under 16s.”

This comes after John Whitby, Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales, has called for the government to ban under 16s from using social media earlier this week.

He argued that young people faced ‘massive challenges and pressures’ from social media use – with the increased prevalence of cyberbullying and the spread of inappropriate content having ‘shocking’ on teenagers’ mental health.