NSW to ban phones in public schools from late 2023. Source: pxfuel
New South Wales will be banning mobile phones in public high school classrooms, lunchtime, and recesses, from term 4 later this year.
The state’s newly elected government said this ban is part of a promise made during the election campaign to reduce distraction for high school students.
The ban will forbid students to use their phones during school hours and has already been introduces in NSW primary schools.
Premier Chris Minns said that parents were concerned about their children texting or using social media in class.
“I know a lot of adults who find it difficult to concentrate when a mobile phone is in front of them, so I don’t know why we expect children to have that kind of discipline in them,” Mr Minns said.
Mr Minns said that locked pouches or lockers could be an option for keeping phones out of classrooms.
“There are low-cost and no-cost options that are available to them,” Mr Minns said.
“It may be as simple as making sure mobile phones are in a student’s bag and can’t be taken out during the school day.”
Mr Minns also said that there is evidence in other states and in the UK that banning mobile phones in schools does improve learning outcomes.
“In the UK the benefits were felt the highest among the students with the lowest scores… They received double the increase in scores that the average students in their cohort were able to achieve,” Mr Minns said.
Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory have also introduced a mobile phone ban to public high schools.
