Following a survey that shows that around a third of primary and secondary school students have been bullied, the John Wallis academy starting using magnet locks during school hours.
Kristin Hawthorne reports...
Kristin Hawthorne reports...
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00:00I actually do like it because for me it helps me and my friends try to communicate more,
00:06we focus more on lessons, I feel like we progress more in lessons.
00:10How much do you use your phone during the day?
00:13Well for the pupils at John Wallace School in Ashford,
00:16they use their phones very little and say that others should do the same.
00:20As part of their uniform, students at this school are given one of these pouches where
00:24at the start of the day they have to put their phone in and lock it where it stays
00:28in their backpack until the end of the day where they can unlock it using one
00:32of these magnets that are dotted around the skull and then it opens back up again.
00:37Yeah it helps me but also others in our class because some people on their phones
00:41distract other students but as a whole community we're able to focus more.
00:45It opened your attention span as well and it gave you more time to focus on lessons rather than
00:51constantly hearing notifications in your bag and because you've got that access for your phone.
00:55Now I can go play sport, I can do stuff like that without being
00:59oh why are you not on your phone, why are you not responding to my text in lesson.
01:03Usually when you find yourself on your phone for a long period of time,
01:07you kind of get distracted and you don't see what's going on around you.
01:11I think it's just made me realise that like
01:14the fact that a lot of this information is also in books.
01:17Once the ban was set in place, teachers at the school maintained to pupils that this
01:21change was not a punishment but rather something they should be excited about.
01:26So initially there was a disbelief, students were kind of a bit shocked,
01:31are you really going to take our phones away from us?
01:35But then when we explained it and we explained that this wasn't a punitive,
01:38this wasn't a punishment, we weren't taking something away, we were actually giving them back
01:43childhood, we were giving them back that ability to have meaningful conversations.
01:47We've introduced this for a year now, we've seen harmful online abusive behaviour,
01:53cyber bullying, that type of behaviour has reduced by 80%.
01:57But it's not just the pupils that have benefited from the change,
02:00as staff retention rates have seen a 12% reduction since the ban began.
02:05The shift in children's mobile usage however goes far beyond just this school.
02:10The crime commissioner for Kent said that it is more important now than ever that we
02:15talk about the problems that social media, smartphones and online bullying are causing
02:19to young people. We need to support schools in implementing smartphone policies.
02:24Anyone can become attached to checking and using their phone, causing many of us to depend on them
02:29during social situations and for information. But with phone bans being introduced for the
02:34younger generation, this problem could change in the future.
02:38Kristen Hawthorne, KMTV, Ashford.
02:45you