Schools and parents should not be scared to take smartphones and other electronic devices away from teenagers, the headmaster of Eton has said. Simon Henderson, head of the private school since 2015, says it is sometimes appropriate to take devices away.
Speaking at a Girls' Day School Trust conference in London, Mr Henderson said Eton now requires its Year 9 boys to hand in their devices at night-time. He said the boys liked the move, as it removed the pressure from them. Asked how schools could help teenagers navigate social media, Mr Henderson told the conference: "It's a 24/7 culture, but there's a place for taking phones and things off them.”
Many schools, both state and private, ban pupils from having mobile phones with them in school.
While teachers have the legal right to confiscate items from pupils, there is no government policy about mobile phone use in England and individual schools make their own rules on the issue. The study looked at schools in four English cities and found test scores increased by more than 6% in those which banned phones. Former Ofsted boss and vice-chancellor of Reading University, Sir David Bell, who also spoke at the GDST conference, was keen to point out the positive side of social media.He said it was a w onderful opportunity for youngsters to "connect up". But he acknowledged there were elements of social media that left young people vulnerable.
It was important to help young people identify the "right sort of community" to be a part of, he added.
