Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you to so many of you that took the time to respond to the consultation on mobile phones. Some of the key findings of the consultation are as follows:
- 94% of respondents said their child brought a phone to school.
- 89% of respondents identified the safety of their children as a reason for them bringing a phone to school.
- 51% of respondents said that their child was spending too much time on screens at home and in school.
- 33% (1 in 3) respondents felt their child would behave better if they used their phone less.
- 53% of respondents thought their child would be a better student if they were unable to use their phone during the school day.
- 73% of respondents felt their child’s mental health would benefit from a break from their phone during school hours.
Most of the comments from parents suggested that phones were a necessity for our young people’s safety, but the students should not have access to them during the school day.
In light of this, We will be making our school a phone-free space to improve teaching and learning using a system called Yondr. Yondr has been implemented in over 3,000 schools across 18 countries to facilitate an engaged learning environment. Local schools including Elizaberth Garrett Anderson and Beacon High also use this system and we are confident Yondr will have a positive impact here as well.
We believe that phones have great utility. We have also found that learning and social behaviour improve drastically when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates.
The Yondr Program utilises a simple, secure pouch that stores a phone. Every student will secure their phone in a personally assigned Yondr pouch when they arrive at school. Students will maintain possession of their phones and will not use them until their pouches are opened at the end of the school day. Students are required to bring their Yondr pouch to and from school each day and are responsible for their pouch at all times. The Achievement and Behaviour policy will be used to support this expectation of a phone free space for students.
Whilst the school will initially provide the pouches for free on introduction this term, it will become part of the school’s equipment which will have to be bought by parents/carers if it is damaged, lost or stolen thereafter. The cost then is £25.
Yondr recently surveyed over 900 school partners to measure the effects of creating phone-free educational environments. These schools achieved notable progress in multiple areas:
- 65% of schools saw an improvement in academic performance.
- 72% of schools saw an improvement in student behaviour.
- 84% of schools saw an improvement in student engagement in the classroom.
- 86% of schools saw a positive impact on student safety and wellness.
We understand that you may have questions about this programme, so invite you to a remote consultation with Senior staff who will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the system on Wednesday 19 June at 10am.
If you wish to attend, please email Mr McLoughlin at d.mcloughlin@amsi.school and a link will be emailed to you ahead of the event.
In an effort to best serve your child, we appreciate your full support in adoption of the Yondr Programme at our school.
Susan Service
Head teacher