Minister for Education: Why I want a total ban on phones in schools

I believe that my plan to introduce a mobile phone ban in post-primary schools in Cork will give students a break. It will be a mental break from the influence of mobile phones.

I want to acknowledge that all schools do have a mobile phone policy in place. But some schools allow students to access their mobile phones at break times and lunchtime. However, going forward, there should be no access to mobile phones until the school day is over.

I know how resourceful students are. Many people have already warned me that students will find a way around any ban. But schools are very well used to managing rules, such as those around the school uniform or the times students have to attend class.

I think students themselves will acknowledge that it’s no harm to them to have a break from access to the phone during the school day. Why do I say that? It is because of the growing international research in this area.

Last year, a UN report recommended smartphones should be banned from schools to improve learning and tackle classroom disruption and cyberbullying. UNESCO, the UN’s education agency, cited evidence that removing smartphones from schools in Belgium, Spain and the UK was found to improve learning outcomes.

It noted that just having a mobile phone nearby with notifications coming through is enough to result in students losing their attention from the task at hand.

One study found that it can take students up to 20 minutes to refocus on what they were learning once distracted.

A mobile phone ban during the school day will improve the learning environment in schools by reducing distraction.

There is also growing international research about the dangers of the inappropriate use of social media by children and young people.

The US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, has stated that social media has emerged as an “important contributor” to the mental health crisis among young people.

He quotes a 2019 study that found that U.S adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media may be at higher risk for certain mental health problems. He also cited research in which nearly half of US teenagers reported that social media made them feel worse about their bodies.

The latest study from the Growing Up Un Ireland project has found that 13-year-olds in Ireland are almost twice as likely to be “at risk” of depressive symptoms, with girls especially at risk. This is based on a survey of a group of 6,000 people who were born in 2008.

Around 30% of them were “at risk” of depression compared to just 16% of another group of 13-year-olds who were born in 1998. There has been a surge of online activity since the launch of the Iphone in 2007 and the growth in popularity of social media platforms.

We have a significant programme being rolled out in our primary schools where we’re encouraging parents to ‘Keep Childhood Smartphone Free’. As a result, there has been a strong take up of the voluntary agreements among parents not to buy smartphones for their children while they are in primary school.

I really want to acknowledge the work that parents are doing in that regard with the of schools. Equally so, in our schools, we have Webwise, who are working with our students about how to be safe online.

However, I strongly believe we need a mobile phone ban in post-primary schools to complement these initiatives because we’re seeing more and more issues around mobile phones in the hands of young people.

Cyberbullying can have a devastating impact on students. We need to be proactive in this space.

I believe this mobile phone ban will reduce the risk of cyberbullying and access to inappropriate content during school hours.

Some parents want their children to have a mobile phone in secondary school so they can reach them if necessary. But if students need to be ed, parents can still get in touch with them by ringing the school. Students can also have access to their mobile during their journey to and from school.

Some students may have medical conditions that can involve the use of a mobile phone.

For example, pupils with diabetes might use continuous glucose monitoring with a sensor linked to their mobile phone to monitor blood sugar levels.

Where such mobile phone use is required for pupils to manage their medical condition effectively, schools will have the discretion to allow this.

By and large, parents, guardians and schools acknowledge it is in the best interest of students to live in a mobile phone-free zone during school hours. There are schools around the country already doing that. But some of them do allow students access to mobile phones at lunchtime or break time. I want to see all schools on the same level.

I believe this mobile phone ban during school hours is in the best interest of students. It is in the best interest of a learning environment. And it is in the best interest of cultivating conversation and a sense of community within our schools.