Mobiles ban must be supported by parents

Mobiles ban must be supported by parents

19 September 2018

ONE of the district’s most senior teachers believes a school ban on the use of mobile phones will only work if it has the backing of all parents.

France recently decided to ban mobiles in primary and middle classrooms with Carney Cumper —deputy principal at Killyleagh Integrated Primary School — suggesting such a move in Northern Ireland can only work if there is parental support.

Mrs Cumper, who is President of the 7,000-strong Ulster Teachers’ Union and has been teaching for three decades, said the reasons behind the mobile ban were “laudable” and could not be argued with.

However, she feared a ban will only work if all parents are on board as school policies need to be backed up at home.

“What might be more useful than a ban is to ensure our young people know how to use mobiles safely, how to stay safe online and how to respect the rules of the school if it doesn’t allow mobile use in class,” said Mrs Cumper. “Parents have a crucial role to play in this.

“Without mobiles the French government hopes to cut phone thefts and resultant violence, reduce bullying and improve focus in lessons as well as communication between pupils. 

“However, crucial to the effectiveness of such a ban will be how it is enforced and this could be cumbersome, problematic and add to school bureaucracy and teachers’ workload.”

She said there was also the danger that by ‘banning’ something it then takes on a cache of its own and goes ‘underground,’ suggesting it was almost like a challenge for some young people bent on making mischief to evade the system.

Mrs Cumper continued: “Of course, pupils who use their phones during class for purposes other than their work are distracted and distracting and that is totally unacceptable. But with phones at least ‘visible’, their use can be policed and pupils punished or mobiles confiscated.

“At the moment, only a few schools ban phones and most allow them as long as they are kept in lockers or switched off.”

She said many parents wanted their children to have phones with them during the day so they could get in touch with them in the event of a change in plan at home time and lifts being required, for instance.

Mrs Cumper added: “Phones can also be a useful learning tool if they connect to the internet. But, by the same token, their use is currently being looked at by exam boards given the attendant potential for possible cheating.”