Petition for phone-free schools hits 700 signatures as campaigners set to present message to Sheffield council
A campaign group fighting for smart phones to be banned from schools is preparing to present their petition to Sheffield Council.
Smartphone Free Childhood (SFC) launched a petition in Sheffield calling for smartphones to be banned from school back in December, and within 24 hours it had received 200 signatures.
Since then, the petition has garnered 700 signatures, as discussions nationally continue to progress around age restrictions on social media.
Locally, the campaign group has received support from both Green and Labour party councillors.
Similar proposals to stop the use of phones in schools have been accepted by schools in the south of England in places like Brighton and Hove, Ealing, Devon, Hampshire, Worcestershire and Barnet.
Ruth Fitzell from SFC Sheffield explains: “It is fantastic that parties overall seem to agree to raise the age limit for social media to 16 years.
“We believe that in order to allow children to develop their physical, social and cognitive skills well we should go one step further and raise the age limit for smartphones to 14. Brickphones are sufficient for children to contact the friends they know and their parents and if parents really want to know where their children are they can add an air tag.
“In this way children don’t need to be exposed to all the risks that a largely unsupervised and unregulated access to the internet on the go brings with it.”
The group are now expecting to present the petition to Sheffield City Council at thee Education, Children and Families Policy committee meeting next Tuesday (February 3).
While the proposals are not listed in the agenda for discussion, there is space for members of the public to present their concerns.
Schools have individually chosen to introduce phone bans, and the Government offers a number of potential case studies to educators including the use of sealed bags that lock smartphones away during learning hours.
Ruth added: “Smartphones and social media are something all parents and schools have to navigate, and in the absence of clear legislation, similar to the risks of smoking, we are the ones who have to raise awareness.
“The petition calls for the council to work with schools to make them smartphone free, help ensure smartphones are not needed for student bus fares, raise awareness across the city through advertising and commission research relevant to Sheffield into this.”