At Ealing Bridges Federation we recognise that mobile phones and similar devices, including smartphones and smart watches, are an important part of everyday life for our pupils, parents/carers and staff, as well as the wider federation community. Our policy aims to:
This policy also aims to address some of the challenges posed by mobile phones and devices in our schools, such as:
Note: throughout this policy, ‘mobile phones’ refers to mobile phones and similar devices.
This policy meets the requirements of the Department for Education’s non-statutory mobile phone guidance and behaviour guidance. Further guidance that should be considered alongside this policy is Keeping Children Safe in Education.
All staff (including teachers, support staff and supply staff) are responsible for consistently enforcing this policy.
Volunteers, or anyone else otherwise engaged by the schools in the federation, must alert a member of staff if they witness, or are aware of, a breach of this policy.
The senior leaders are responsible for monitoring the policy annually, reviewing it, and holding staff and pupils accountable for its implementation.
Staff will address any questions or concerns from parents/carers quickly, and clearly communicate the reasons for prohibiting the use of mobile phones.
The DfE’s non-statutory mobile phone guidance says that staff should not use their own mobile phone for personal reasons in front of pupils.
Staff (including volunteers, contractors and anyone else otherwise engaged by schools in the federation) are not permitted to use their personal mobile phone, while children are present. Use of personal mobile phones must be restricted to non-contact time, and to areas of the schools where pupils are not present (such as the staffroom or senior staff offices).
There may be circumstances in which it’s appropriate for a member of staff to have use of their phone during contact time for personal reasons. For instance (this list is non-exhaustive):
The headteacher should be notified if this is the case and will decide on a case-by-basis whether to allow for special arrangements.
If special arrangements are not deemed necessary, school staff can use the school office number 020 8566 6486 as a point of emergency contact.
Staff must not use their personal mobile phones to process personal data, or any other confidential school information, including entering such data into generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT and Google Bard).
More information can be found in the school’s data protection policy.
Staff must not give their personal contact details to parents/carers or pupils, including connecting through social media and messaging apps.
Staff must avoid publicising their contact details on any social media platform or website, to avoid unwanted contact by parents/carers or pupils.
Staff must not use their personal mobile phones to take photographs or recordings of pupils, their work, or anything else which could identify a pupil. If it’s necessary to take photos or recordings as part of a lesson/school trip/activity, this must be done using school equipment.
In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for staff to use personal mobile phones for work. Such circumstances may include, but aren’t limited to:
In these circumstances, staff will:
Some members of staff are provided with a mobile phone by the federation for work purposes.
Only authorised staff are permitted to use school phones, and access to the phone must not be provided to anyone without authorisation.
Staff must:
Staff that fail to adhere to this policy may face disciplinary action.
See the federation’s staff disciplinary policy for more information.
The DfE’s non-statutory mobile phone guidance says that pupils should not use mobile phones throughout the school day.
Pupils should not use their mobile phones during the school day, including during lessons, in the time between lessons, at breaktimes and at lunchtimes.
Pupils in years 5 and 6 who walk home alone, can bring their mobile phones into school. These should be given to office at the start of the school day and can be collected at the end of the school day.
The DfE’s non-statutory mobile phone guidance includes in the term ‘mobile phones’ all devices with communications and smart technology that the school chooses to include in their policy.
Smartwatches are wristwatches with smart technology in them. They can be used to tell the time, send and receive text and voice messages, make calls and listen to music. Some smart watches have wellness and health-related features.
Smartwatches are not permitted in school as they pose a safeguarding risk to pupils.
If a pupil is found to have a mobile phone, in the first instance it should be given to the office, so the pupil can collect after school. If a pupil continues to bring in a mobile phone and not follow the school’s procedures, the teacher will keep the phone and return to parents at the end of the day.
If a pupil continues to bring a mobile device into school, despite understanding the procedures, in line with the DfE’s guidance on mobile phones in school, the head of school will confiscate the phone and return to parent/carers at the end of the week. Sanctions will be issued in line with our school behaviour policy.
In specific circumstances, the DfE guidance allows schools to search a pupil’s phone if there is a good reason to do so (such as having reason to believe the phone contains pornographic images, or if it is being/has been used to commit an offence or cause harm to another person).
If this is the case, two member of staff will review the contents of the phone. If it is believed to contain pornographic images, the police will be notified and staff are not permitted to view the phone. This is in line with guidance that can be found in the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding policy.
In each case, the sanction given must be reasonable and proportionate. The school will also consider whether:
Certain types of conduct, bullying or harassment can be classified as criminal conduct. The school takes such conduct extremely seriously and will involve the police or other agencies as appropriate.
Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:
Parents/carers, visitors and volunteers (including governors and contractors) must adhere to this policy as it relates to staff if they are on a school site during the school day.
This means:
Parents/carers, visitors and volunteers will be informed of the rules for mobile phone use when they sign in at reception or attend a public event at school.
A summary of the policy will be shared with parent/carers through newsletters, meetings and workshops throughout the school year, as appropriate.
Parents/carers or volunteers supervising school trips or residential visits must not:
Parents/carers or volunteers supervising trips are also responsible for enforcing the federation’s policy for pupils using their phones, as set out in section 5 above, but must refer any sanctions to a member of staff, as they do not have the power to search or confiscate devices.
Parents/carers must use the school office as the first point of contact if they need to get in touch with their child during the school day. They must not try to contact their child on their personal mobile during the school day.
Pupils in years 5 and 6 who walk home alone and are bringing mobile phones to school, must ensure that the phones are appropriately labelled and are stored securely in the school office when not in use.
Pupils must secure their mobile phones as much as possible, including using passwords or pin codes to protect access to the phone’s functions. Staff must also secure their personal phones, as well as any work phone provided to them. Failure by staff to do so could result in data breaches.
The school accepts no responsibility for mobile phones that are lost, damaged or stolen on school premises or transport, during school visits or trips, or while pupils are travelling to and from school.
Confiscated phones will be stored in the heads of school’s offices in a secure location/locked cabinet.
Lost phones should be returned to the office. The school will then attempt to contact the owner.
The school is committed to ensuring that this policy has a positive impact of pupils’ education, behaviour and welfare. When reviewing the policy, the school will take into account:
If there are any concerns regarding this policy, these should be brought to the attention of senior staff in a timely manner.
The school accepts no responsibility for phones that are lost, damaged or stolen while you are on the school grounds.
A full copy of our mobile phone policy is available from the schools’ offices.
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Published:
September 2024
Review Date:
September 2025
Author:
Liane Simpson