Edinburgh, Scotland, UK – In a polarizing move, Portobello High School this month became the first school in Scotland to require students to lock their mobile phones in magnetically sealed Yondr pouches before entering the school building.
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Pupils are expected to keep their phones with them during the day but are unable to access them on school grounds.
Despite pushback from pupils who believe their opinions were not taken into consideration and questions over practicality, Portobello High School senior staff said the policy is here to stay. They said they want to inspire other schools in the country to become phone-free learning zones.
Students at Portobello may have been the first to experience the new policy, but they’re no longer alone. Within days, Queensferry High School – also in Edinburgh – adopted similar rules for mobile phones.
The moves follow guidance from the Scottish government which suggested that mobile phone policies should be “informed by the need to protect both pupils and staff from the risks of mobile phones” while embracing the use of technology in education.
The government guidelines also say that schools must discuss any new policy with students and parents and listen to their concerns before implementing it.
Portobello High School surveyed parents earlier this year and found that more than 80 percent were in support of a stricter mobile phone policy and would be willing to pay £10 for Yondr pouches.
The student body was not surveyed and there was no schoolwide discussion about the new policy, but school officials did present the plan to selected students in focus groups.
Just before implementing the new policy, school administrators outlined the change to the Portobello Pupil Parliament. The goal of that meeting was not to discuss the phone ban, but to talk about how best to put it into practice.
Portobello High School hopes the pouch policy will reduce the negative impacts that mobile phone use has on learning, reduce cyberbullying, and strengthen in-person social connections within the school.
Head Teacher Gregg McDowall said that he sees first-hand the impact that mobile phones have on learning and the “level of distraction” pupils experience.
McDowall said the pouch policy was necessary to combat the damage phone use was doing in the classroom.
“I can’t just sit back and watch it happen,” McDowall said.
Some first-year pupils voiced their agreement.
“It’s easy to get distracted,” said Billy Jarman, when people watch things on their phone during a lesson.
Classmate Clara Evans said that teachers repeatedly telling pupils to get off their phones “wastes time.”
Students also spoke of the impact that phones have on their friendships.
Their peers are often too absorbed in their phones to have a conversation during break and lunch.
When other students are on their phones, Chloe Magee, it makes her feel “pressured to go on my phone as well.”
McDowall said he hopes the policy will cause a “shift in culture of the school.” He said he wants to see that “more young people are engaging with each other, rebuilding social networks.”
So how does it actually work?
The policy applies at all times within the school grounds including at break and lunch. As a response to students’ concerns over safety and ability to use Apple Pay to buy food, administrators revised the policy to allow use of phones at lunch break, provided pupils are leaving school grounds.
Staff and visitors will be encouraged to use a pouch, too, and are expected to limit phone use inside the school, respecting the ‘phone-free learning zone.’
A breach of the policy results in a teacher confiscating the phone and sending it to the office. The pupil’s parent or carer will then be informed and asked to pick up the phone. If this is not possible, a senior teacher will discuss alternative arrangements.
The school community raised concerns about those with medical conditions or other needs which require pupils to have access to their phones.
In line with the Scottish government guidelines, there will be exceptions for individual circumstances, and the school set up staffed ‘emergency contact areas’ where pupils will be able to contact home if necessary.
The school also took into consideration the age of sixth year pupils, who are preparing to leave school, and will allow them to use their phones in their designated common area.
But many pupils still feel the policy is too harsh and that they have a right to access their phones.
The Edinburgh High School Student’s Union conducted a survey among Portobello High School students which revealed that 93% of 176 pupils – out of a student body of at least 1,400 – surveyed didn’t support the phone pouch policy.
“My biggest concern is that mental health conditions and mental disabilities will be overlooked,” said Sara Chand, Portobello High School’s representative on the Edinburgh High School Student Union.
Chand also said that because some people may not have an official diagnosis, “their exemptions would not be considered valid.”
But is it fair to apply a general policy on all students, even those who don’t have trouble managing their phone use?
McDowall said he recognizes this but believes that the school must tackle the issue together.
Pupils have to make a sacrifice in order to “protect the learning environment,” he said. “Sometimes we have to take a step back and give a little.”
Leila Koita is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
