STUDENTS joining a Jersey secondary school this term face a complete ban on mobile phone use.
Victoria College requires people in Year 7 to lock their phones away in personal lockers throughout the school day, with this policy due to affect students in all year groups within four years.
The school has cited the benefits of a “digital pause” on mental health and extra-curricular activities as reasons behind the measure.
The move comes as around 200 schools in France trial an initiative to ban phones for all pupils under 15 during the day, with acting education minister Nicole Belloubet saying the policy could be rolled out across the country in 2025 if the trials are successful.
The Victoria College initiative is an extension of the school’s existing restrictions, introduced in 2019, which require all pupils up to Year 11 to have phones switched off and out of sight between 8.25am and 3.25pm.
Head teacher Dr Gareth Hughes said the intention was to “roll up” the new approach every 12 months, so that it would apply to all secondary students by 2028.
“It’s not a radical move, as we have been phone-free for some time,” he said. “There haven’t been particular problems that have sparked this, but we know that some students may push boundaries and this move ensures there isn’t any temptation.”
Dr Hughes said his research had shown that only around a tenth of UK schools had an effective phone ban, but that where such a policy was in place, there had been positive effects such as lower absence rates, a reduction in bullying, improved mental health and a rise in outdoor playing, sport and reading.
“It breaks my heart if I see groups of children sitting around on a nice day staring at their phone screens,” he said. “We have nearly 60 clubs and activities and it’s great to see boys taking part in them and letting off steam when they aren’t in lessons.
“We’re not anti-technology at all. The boys have access to laptops and other digital resources as part of their learning.”
Rather than picking up social cues from online influencers, Dr Hughes said he wanted pupils to develop through interaction with their peers. older students and teachers.
“The mental-health aspects are huge and it’s been shown that young people aren’t developed enough to deal with unregulated social-media use and access to the internet,” he said.
Feedback from parents had been very positive, Dr Hughes added, with parents and children able to contact each other through the school office if necessary.
Different rules apply to those in Years 12 and 13, with phone use permitted during lessons with the consent of teachers, as well as within the confines of the sixth-form centre.
Phone use has been banned at Haute Vallée since 2019, and deputy head teacher Sarah Quenault said earlier this year that the policy was “well-embedded, consistent and fair”, with students aware of the sanctions for breaking the rules.
Jersey College for Girls does not ban mobile phones, permitting their use in lessons once pupils have obtained consent from a teacher. Head teacher Carl Howarth told the JEP in March that he considered schools were “places of learning, not prohibition”.
In February this year, Guernsey’s Ladies’ College introduced a policy similar to this week’s move at Victoria College.
In the UK, the previous government issued guidance in March which gave teachers more power and support to enforce bans as part of a plan to “minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms” and ensure a consistent approach across all schools.
Jersey’s government has confirmed that there is no blanket policy covering phone use in schools.
