NSW will implement a mobile phone ban across high schools this term. Source: Rawpixel
NSW public high schools are joining primary schools in a mobile phone ban during school hours this term.
Education Minister Prue Car said a state-wide ban would help take some pressure off teachers and help young people focus in class and improve their outcomes.
“We believe this is going to help kids concentrate so teachers can do their job in the classroom,” Car said.
Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia have phone bans in place already, and Queensland students will expect one next year.
Car said that every school had been consulting with her department to work out the best way to enforce the ban.
“A lot of schools are doing ‘off and away’, so turned off and in the bag or in the locker, others have lockable pouches and some schools are putting them in the front office or a particular location,” Car told ABC Radio on Monday.
Premier Chris Minns said on Sunday that “it’s essential to ensure that young people in particular can focus on the schoolwork in front of them and teachers have an attentive class.”
Increased phone use in schools had coincided with poor test outcomes, with Minns citing UK research indicating better academic outcomes in schools that had enforced phone bans.
“Anyone can see that these mobile phones are designed to distract young people, with their notifications, social media, gaming technology,” Minns said.
“We cannot expect young people to focus on the academic work while they’ve got a phone pinging in their ear every other second.”
The phone ban is a Minns government election pledge, affecting 320,000 students across 400 schools.
Different schools will be able to choose how the ban is implemented, with considerations for students who require phones for medical reasons, such as monitoring blood sugar levels.
