Parents to be encouraged not to buy smart phones for primary school children

Minister for Education Norma Foley is bringing a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday morning to encourage parents to avoid buying smartphones for their children in primary schools.

Under the plan, new guidelines would be sent to all primary schools for parents who wish to introduce a voluntary no-smartphones policy at their child’s school, officials at the Department of Education confirmed.

The move is prompted by concerns about primary schoolchildren’s potential exposure to cyberbullying, violent and sexual content and other online harms via smartphones.

The guidelines would be primarily based on the example of Greystones, Co Wicklow, where parents’ associations across all eight primary schools agreed a “no smartphone voluntary code” until children start secondary school.

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The Irish Times reported last month that the Department of Education is not planning a blanket ban on smartphones across schools.

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Schools already have discretion to ban or restrict smartphones use in school and many do so under their “acceptable use” policies.

Practices vary widely in second-level schools, where some allow students to use their phones in class quizzes or work, while others have strict policies where students are required to hand over their phones on arrival at school or place them in secure locations.

Ms Foley said last month the plans would focus will be on “educational information ... when people have the proper information, that is the first step in terms of them having the right tool to make the right decision”.

“Schools do a huge amount of work in this area, but they can only do so much. Therefore, we need the co-operation of parents and guardians,” she said.