A primary school in Northamptonshire reports that pupils are arriving calmer and more focused following the introduction of a smartphone ban last month.
Marie Lally, co-head teacher at Earls Barton Primary School, said staff and parents had recognised the negative impact smartphones were having on children’s wellbeing.
West Northamptonshire Council has agreed to consult on whether guidance should be issued to local schools regarding mobile phones. Nationally, the Smartphone Free Childhood initiative recommends children do not receive smartphones before their 14th birthday.
Ms Lally explained that the decision followed consultation with parents and governors. “Year 6 started this year much calmer, much more focused, and much more childlike, and so far the only impact we’ve seen is positive,” she said.
Acknowledging that some parents want their children to have phones for contact purposes, Ms Lally suggested using a “brick phone” instead. “There is absolutely no need for children as young as 10 and 11 to have a smartphone. The information they can access, the images they can see, the messages they are receiving are completely unsolicited and out of parents’ control. As a mother-of-three, I wish I hadn’t bought my eldest child a smartphone,” she added.
She advised parents to establish stricter controls at home, including limiting screen time and keeping phones away at bedtime.
Katie Moore, a mother and advocate with the Smartphone Free Childhood movement in Northampton, supported the school’s approach. She said smartphones exposed children to “inappropriate content” and caused unnecessary conflict at home. Her eldest daughter, she revealed, encountered animated pornography, bullying, and teasing on WhatsApp.
“This isn’t stuff she was choosing to look at,” Ms Moore explained. “I don’t want to repeat the mistakes I made as a parent and I ignored my instincts with my eldest.” She now provides her 11-year-old son with a basic phone without internet access, which remains “turned off in his bag” unless he needs to contact her.
Ms Moore said attitudes must shift to normalise delaying smartphones for younger children.
Department for Education guidance offers schools several options for managing mobile phones, including collecting devices at arrival, storing them securely, keeping them out of sight, or banning them entirely.
Kathryn Shaw, Reform UK cabinet member for education at West Northamptonshire Council, said last month: “We can provide guidance, consultation and leadership, but we cannot enforce policy across trusts.”
