Smartphone Free Childhood
A School Conversation: Supporting Safe Mobile Phone Choices at Home
Understanding the Smartphone-Free Childhood (SFC) Initiative
We recently received a thoughtful letter from a group of parents expressing their collective concern about the increasing trend of young children owning smartphones. They highlighted the benefits of delaying ownership until a later age (year 9), citing the Smartphone-Free Childhood (SFC) initiative.
Website address: https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/
We sincerely appreciate these parents for raising this important topic and initiating a vital conversation within our school community.
Our Shared Commitment to Child Safety
As a school, we fully understand and share the concerns about the impact of early smartphone access. The research supporting the SFC movement is compelling and resonates strongly with the safeguarding issues we monitor together. This is particularly relevant as the Christmas period approaches, when many children, especially those in Years 5 and 6, might receive new devices, including mobile phones.
Like all parents, our school's vision is to ensure the best possible well-being and development for every child. This includes addressing the challenges of the digital age, such as the ease of accessing potentially damaging content and the risk of sharing inappropriate material.
The School's Digital Device Policy
To maintain a focused, safe, and positive learning environment, our existing policy on personal digital devices remains clear:
- During School Hours: The use of smartphones or similar personal devices is strictly prohibited during the school day. We encourage children to focus fully on their learning and social interactions.
- Essential Communication: If a child needs a smartphone for safety while travelling to and from school, the device must be handed in to their class teacher upon arrival and will be returned when they leave for the day.
How We Support Digital Safety
The decision about when a child receives a smartphone rests, of course, with individual parents and families.
Resources for Informed Choices
To actively support the spirit of this movement, we are sharing the following resources from the SFC initiative. We encourage you to explore these links to help you make a choice that aligns with your family’s values and keeps your child safe:
- The Official SFC Website: https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/
- The Rationale: Read about why delaying smartphone ownership (for example, until Year 9) is considered beneficial for a child's developmental stage.
- The Parent Pact: Discover the concept of the ‘Parent Pact’—a tool for collective action where parents agree to delay giving their children smartphones.
- Alternative Devices: Learn about suitable ‘brick phone’ alternatives that allow children and parents to stay safely in contact during the walk to and from school.
By providing this information, we hope to empower all parents to make the most informed choice for their family.
Thank you once again to the parents who brought this important discussion to the forefront. We are committed to working together to ensure our children thrive, both on and offline.