Some Northland schools are already implementing a ban on phones. Photo / 123rf
Some Northland schools are already implementing a ban on phones. Photo / 123rf
Northland principals are hoping a cellphone ban enforced by the Government will prepare students for the real world and improve learning.
School leaders say the ban isn’t too different from what many have already been implemented.
One parent has labelled the ban on cellphones in school a “no-brainer”, while others have called it “absurd”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced in August that National would rid schools of what he called the “major distraction” to “help lift achievement”.
Schools can decide how the rule is enforced, such as where the phones are kept.
Parsons was contacted by his school last year after he was caught with his phone in class. She approved of the school’s “proactive” approach.
Parsons’ other son’s school, Kaitāia College, recently announced a ban would be effective this term.
“As a parent, I think it’s really good. They’ve actually got to interact more”, she said.
Kamo High School was blasted on social media by an anonymous poster who labelled its “phone away for the day” rule “absurd”.
The post had garnered nearly 700 comments by Thursday, a vast majority in support of the policy.
The school released a newsletter to parents in the lead-up to term 1 instructing phones should be “away for the day”, kept only in school bags and turned off.
Students breaking the rules would have their phones confiscated, whānau contacted and the device collected by a parent.
There would be an exemption for students with health risks who required access to their phones, the letter said.
Students will no longer be sitting on their phones at lunchtime. Photo / 123rf
Principal Natasha Hemara believes the rule would be an adjustment, but render positive impacts in the long run.
Kamo High School had already implemented a policy of phones away during class time for the past three years that had had a “significant impact” on focus and learning in the classroom, she said.
The school has been working to ensure boredom is at a minimum during lunchtime, now that phones are banned.
However, RNZ reported last year that a survey found most parents and students supported a ban in class, but not in breaks.
Northland had the highest support for the ban, but not during breaks — with 79 per cent in support.
Efforts to reduce boredom at Kamo High School included competitions, and clubs and societies for students to join, Hemara said.
Kamo High School principal Natasha Hemara. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Parent support would be key to ensuring a smooth transition to having phones away all day, especially because students might struggle initially, Hemara said.
“They’ve been able to have free reign for so long in their world.”
Enforcing the no-phones-during-break-time rule would come down to trial and error, she said.
Having “good educational dialogue” with students was key.
Hemara expects the school will come across students who are “truly addicted” to their phones and will require support.
Te Mānihi Tumuaki Northland Secondary Principals’ Association chairman and Tikipunga High School principal Alec Solomontold the Advocate many Northland secondary schools already had phone policies in place.
“The vast majority of schools in Northland that I know of don’t allow phones in class,” he said.
“It is becoming an accepted norm for students not to have phones in their classes. It’s part of a student’s preparedness for work. It is an understanding of expectations. It will be no different to the expectations your employer has of you.”
His school will have the full policy enacted by term 2.
The focus is to get students settled into learning and then spend the term making sure students and whānau have a “shared understanding” of the initiative.
Solomon said its approach was by no means a one-size-fits-all.
