Forge Valley School: Sheffield secondary bans all phones, headphones and smart watches for pupils

Students at Forge Valley School, Wood Lane, Malin Bridge, are now not allowed to bring phones, smart watches, or even headphones onto campus.

The rule has been formally enforced under the school’s behaviour policy, which says any device will be confiscated and returned to parents, with punishments for pupils who refuse to hand their phones over.

The policy reads: “Students must not contact home via their mobile phone during the school day. Students to seek a member of staff to contact home.

“We will educate students on how to keep safe on social media, not to use apps/sites below their legal age and raise awareness of the dangers of the internet.”

Headteacher Mr Dale Barrowclough appeared on BBC Radio Sheffield this morning (September 19) to say a previous policy of only keeping phones out of sight “wasn’t working”.

He said: “We would see children walking into school with their phones out, glued to their screens, and in lessons children were distracted. That is gone.”

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Mr Barrowclough reportedly announced the change to pupils in July, but did not address it publicly when contacted by The Star on July 5.

He instead replied: “Forge Valley School is preparing information to share with parents to support an effective start to the new academic year, including for example updates on mobile phones and uniform. I feel that these updates will be supportive to all our young people and families going forward.”

It comes after former Penistone & Stocksbridge MP Miriam Cates spoke at PMQs in January calling a nationwide ban of all smartphones and social media for children under 16 - both at home and at school.

Forge Valley had the fourth biggest student cohort in Sheffield in 2023, with 1,249 pupils. This was also the busiest it had been in five years.

It is operated by Tapton School Trust, which runs eight other schools in Sheffield. The no-phones policy is only at Forge Valley, but Mr Barrowclough claims the rule will spread to more schools in time.