Smart Phone Free St Mary's

Guidance for Parents and Carers

At St Mary’s, our priority is always the safety, wellbeing and focus of the children in our care. With this in mind, we want to take a moment to clarify our position on mobile phones and share some guidance around internet-enabled devices.

We strongly discourage children from bringing mobile phones to school. If a child ever needs to contact home during the day, this will be arranged via the school office. Likewise, if you need to get in touch with your child urgently, please call the office and we will make sure your message is passed on promptly.

Mobile Phones – Year 5 and 6 Only

We do understand that some older children in Years 5 and 6 walk to and from school independently. For this reason, we allow those children to bring a basic mobile phone for emergency use during their journey. If your child does bring a phone, please ensure the following:

• The phone must be clearly labelled with their name.
• It must be switched off and handed straight to the class teacher on arrival.
• It will be stored safely during the school day and returned at home time to be put away in their bag.
• Phones must not be used in or around school, including the playground.
• Phones should be basic models (sometimes referred to as “brick phones”), which do not connect to the internet or have access to apps.

NB:

(For Year 5 children moving into Year 6 only)
If your child already owns a smartphone, we are allowing a phased approach for the academic year 2025–2026 only, meaning they may continue to bring it to school to avoid any additional cost to families.
However, if your child does not yet own a smartphone, we strongly encourage you to delay purchasing one, in keeping with the spirit of the Smartphone-Free Childhood movement.

We would also like to remind families that:

• St Mary’s cannot accept any responsibility for lost or damaged phones brought into school.
• If a child is found using a mobile phone in school without permission, it will be taken to the office and we will contact you to collect it.
• Taking photographs or videos in school using a phone is considered a serious incident and will be dealt with by the Headteacher. In certain cases, this could even become a safeguarding or legal matter.

Supporting a Smartphone-Free Childhood

Many of you will be aware of the Smartphone-Free Childhood campaign, which highlights the growing concerns around children’s access to internet-enabled devices. As a school, we share those concerns, particularly around:

• Early exposure to inappropriate content
• Increased screen time and online addiction
• Unsafe or unkind online behaviour
• Reduced attention and focus
• We are not currently enforcing a total ban on smartphones, but we do believe that together we can help reduce the risks our children face.

We kindly ask parents to support us by:

• Having regular, open conversations with your child about their online activity
• Delaying giving them access to smartphones, gaming consoles or smartwatches until they are older (ideally 14+)
• Avoiding smartwatches in school altogether
• Choosing a basic mobile phone without internet access if your child genuinely needs one

If your child doesn’t yet have a smartphone, you're not alone. Many parents are making the decision to hold off – and finding that this helps avoid pressure and complications later on. Delaying access to platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok and Instagram gives children more time to develop the maturity they need to manage these spaces safely and sensibly.

Finally, we know that schools can’t tackle this issue alone, just as parents can’t. But by working together, we can help children develop the knowledge, confidence and resilience they need to navigate the digital world.