Behaviour improves as a result of mobile phone ban
A 12-month review of the mobile phone ban in ϳԹn public schools has revealed substantial improvements in student behaviour.
Ninety-three percent of leaders have reported a decrease in staff time spent following up on phone-related issues, and the majority of staff and parents reported increased focus and more positive break time activities.
A survey of parents, staff and students conducted as part of a one-year review of the policy had more than 3,000 submissions, with more than three-quarters of staff and two-thirds of parents saying the ban was having a positive impact:
- 93% of leaders and 79% of teachers reported a decrease in staff time spent following up issues with phones/social media.
- 83% of leaders and 75% of teachers reported more positive break-time activities.
- 76% of leaders and 70% of teachers reported increased focus and engagement during learning time.
- 75% of leaders and 64% of teachers reported a lower frequency of critical incidents involving devices happening at school.
Parents who said they are concerned about their child’s use of social media were more likely to agree the ban is having a positive impact (77%), compared to parents who did not have those concerns (61%).
It also comes as ϳԹ leads the nation in undertaking bullying initiatives to support our schools, including yesterday’s MOU signing between the SA and NSW Governments in sharing bullying resources, curriculum and professional development across the states. This agreement will include all schooling sectors, including independent and Catholic.
NSW will particularly benefit from the suite of anti-bullying resources SA has created over the past 12 months including the new ‘responding to children and young people’s violent behaviour’ course for staff which has just been released.
ϳԹ has the nation’s strongest mobile phone ban - “off and away for the whole day”, including during breaks. This has played a significant role in helping with anti-social behaviours at schools and reducing incidents.
Additionally, there has been an overall downward trend in three areas of critical incident reports made by schools to the Department for Education relating to mobile phones or high-level social media incidents:
- 57.3% decrease in the number of incidents reported about social media issues in 2024 (90) compared to 2023 (211).
- 37.9% decrease in the number of incidents reported about behaviour issues involving a device in 2024 (103) compared to 2023 (166).
- 34% decrease in the number of incidents reported about policy compliance issues in 2024 (33) compared to 2023 (50).
Students were asked what they do during recess and lunch breaks, with talking to others, walking around and playing sports or ball games being the most significant results.
Building on the ban, students will also receive updated education from 2025 about online safety, risks of inappropriate engagement, and strategies for seeking support to build on their understanding of digital safety and appropriate use of devices.
No substantive changes to the policy were recommended in the wake of the mobile phone review.
All students in all ϳԹn public schools are required to keep their mobile phones and other personal devices (such as smartwatches) switched off and out of sight during school hours, unless they have been given staff permission to use their personal device in line with a policy exemption.
