Dinenage urges residents to voice phone opinions
By Linden Grigg
GOSPORT MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has urged local residents and parents to complete an opinion based survey on the use of smartphones within schools; which comes after the Conservatives tabled an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill due to be debated in Parliament over the coming weeks.
The amendment is entitled ‘New Clause 48’ and was officially put forward by Shadow Education Minister Neil O’Brien as reported by the Telegraph last week. If approved it would “require all schools in England to ban the use of mobile telephones, and other devices with similar functionality, during the school day.”
By doing this the Conservatives hope to remove potential distractions for young people in their classrooms, which in turn could improve education figures and mental health overall in schools after a sharp rise of smartphone use over recent years. The door was held open, as part of the amendment, for sixth form colleges to deviate from this policy if they wanted to.
Shadow Secretary of State for Education Laura Trott said in a routine question session held in the Commons this week: “We know that smartphones in the classroom have a negative impact on reading and on the educational attainment of children in general. When in government, we issued guidance to try to ban smartphones from the classroom, but the latest evidence is clear that they are still far too prevalent in schools.
“To fix the problem, the guidance needs to be put on a statutory footing. Does the Education Secretary agree that children’s educational outcomes are negatively affected by smartphones, and if she does, will she back our amendment to ban them from the classroom for good?”
Ms Dinenage is now seeking the views of residents / parents in her constituency about whether they believe that their child’s academic performance is being negatively affected by the presence of mobile phones in the classroom, and social media more generally. Views will be collected using an online function on her official website and is available here; which features 18 questions.
Over recent years, a body of evidence has formed that draws a link between poor mental health and smartphone usage. Last year, leading psychologist and bestselling author, Professor Jonathan Haidt endorsed a Policy Exchange report that examined that link and considered the effectiveness of smartphone bans in schools as a pragmatic and preventative policy intervention. The report claimed that only 11 per cent of secondary schools have an “effective ban” on mobile phones in the classroom.
Urging parents to take part in her survey, Caroline said: “As the scientific evidence on the impact of smartphones on our children’s mental health and educational attainment continues to stack up, it’s imperative that the voices of parents contribute to the debate.”
“I am genuinely interested to hear what the experience of parents is with their children’s relationship to technology, especially smartphones. While a recent poll suggested that 60 per cent of people in Britain think smartphones should be banned in schools, I want to see whether that is reflected locally.”
She concluded: “This is an opportunity for parents across Gosport, Lee on the Solent, Stubbington and Hill Head to play a direct role in my work in Parliament by informing my views, so I would encourage everyone to share the survey around and take part themselves.”
PICTURED BY DAME CAROLINE DINENAGE: Gosport MP has asked for views to be submitted regarding phones in children’s classrooms as part of an amendment in Parliament.