How will the school leaders of 2125 judge us?

I have always been fascinated by what teachers a hundred years from now will think about our current societal norms.

From the vantage point of modernity, we scoff at our ancestors and their foolishness.

At days when driving home drunk… and pregnant… and smoking a fag, was seen as ‘a bit naughty’.

When we beat children in school to make them behave.

When we sent children up chimneys to clean them.

It is as clear as day to us modern Joe’s just how foolish and misguided our great grandparents were. But how will those that come after judge us?

I am increasingly of the belief that the conversation will go something like this:

My great great granddaughter: So you gave small children phones which allowed them access to all knowledge of good and evil in the world?

Me (but a hologram): Why yes… it’s terribly clever… they can look up absolutely anything – it’s a modern marvel!

My great great granddaughter: Without any protections or adult supervision?

Me (but a hologram): Well, sometimes… but often not….

My great great granddaughter: So lots of children are allowed access to absolutely everything online??

Me (but a hologram): Yes… And videos… although these are mainly suggested by an algorithm on social media.

My great great granddaughter: Educational videos?

Me (but a hologram): Not really. Mainly people fighting, crashing cars and being unkind to one another… Or sometimes trying out make-up… or cats… But it’s great for communication… they can talk to absolutely anyone online – and video chat…

My great great granddaughter: So let me get this straight… You give a small child a device which shows them all the evils of the world, lets them talk to any stranger/ potential abuser and which encourages unhealthy habits and attitudes…

Then you let them take this device into their bedroom and close the door…?

Me (but a hologram): …. Yes….

Just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t make it okay.

After nearly two decades in headship, I have watched this technological phenomenon unfold slowly. At first it was imperceptible: the odd argument via old-fashioned texts, the odd child seeing something online which they shouldn’t (always at home). But over the years I have seen the risks grow ever more significant and ever more frequent. A rise in cyberbullying on Whats App; of primary school aged children sending inappropriate images to one another; of children retreating into an online world and seeing less and less of their actual friends in actual parks; of children glued to their phones the moment they are given them back at the end of the day.

And then something much darker. A rise in predatory strangers approaching children online in their bedrooms whilst their parents watch Eastenders downstairs.

Near miss, after near miss.

But, the thing is, if you have enough near misses – the chances of a collision rises to 100%.

Around the same time, a Year 6 child at Blackhorse left their phone in the box in the teacher’s cupboard overnight (as they were allowed to bring them to school and hand them in). The teacher, picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil Whatsapp group overnight. NINE THOUSAND messages in a 15 hour overnight period.

So around a year ago, we started a debate at Blackhorse and Emersons Green, the two schools which I lead as Executive Headteacher. We sought to answer a simple question: should our schools become Smartphone free?

Laying out the problem.

The first step we took was to ask Avon & Somerset Police to lead a workshop for parents on the harms – in terms of sexual and criminal abuse – which they see as a result of predatory individuals approaching young people locally online. The parents (well over 100 from Blackhorse alone) sat in stunned silence. By the time the second (repeat) event at Emersons took place another 50 or so Blackhorse parents attended that one too – as word spread about the plain-talking Police Officer laying out for parents some of the real-world risks which they saw play out in Bristol every day.

The police had far greater impact here than any educationalist. By the end there was a feeling in the room that something must be done – although at that point we didn’t know what.

Engaging with the argument.

Next, a year before any decisions were made around school policy, we started sharing information with parents via our newsletter about some of the research relating to the impact of Smartphone use on developing brains, most significantly a great podcast with Dr Rangan Chatterjee and Dr Jonathan Haidt, along with resources from Smartphone Free Childhood. I made it clear from the start that I was not neutral on this issue; that I had seen enough through lived experience as a school leader to convince me that we needed to do more to protect children from online harms associated with Smartphones. I also acknowledged that this was an issue where there would likely be differing views.

Creating a focus group.

At this point, almost a year ago, we had no idea what parents felt about this issue so formed a ‘parent action group’ across both schools to discuss the problem and understand what concerns parents had. Whilst we only had about 5-8 parents turn up to each Teams call (the irony isn’t lost on me) we did manage to talk through the issue and come to some understanding of the arguments for and against the school taking a tougher line on phones.

The arguments against any stricter measures at school.

The action group showed the two main arguments against the ban: safety and liberty.

The safety argument was fairly understandable: how will I know my child is safe whilst walking to/ from school if I can’t contact them? Interestingly, we had several parents who were also police officers attend these discussions and their voices proved very persuasive, arguing that parents massively over-estimate dangers in the real world and massively under-estimate dangers in the digital world. We navigated this argument by agreeing that, if a child had to walk to school alone, then they could bring in a simple ‘brick’ phone (texts and calls only) which could be bought for as little as £10. We also reminded parents that the IMS app on their phone showed when their child was registered each day, and the school would always phone them (as we alway have done) if their child didn’t arrive at school.

The second argument was centred around liberty and the school over-reaching its authority to dictate whether parents bought their child a smartphone. Quite rightly, the parents pointed out (in the nicest possible way) that this was none of the school’s business. We countered this argument by explaining that we would not be preventing parents buying their child a smartphone, just preventing them bringing it to school. We made it clear that this was to support parents who wished to delay buying their child a smartphone by removing the peer pressure which existed on the playground before school where children would flaunt their smartphone prior to handing it in. It made it clear that the school would not tacitly condone smartphone ownership by collecting in children’s phones each morning and then handing them back at the end of the day.

Explaining possible options before Christmas

Although any ban (if agreed) wouldn’t come into place until the following September, we communicated the possible outcomes to parents before Christmas so that parents could choose whether to put a smartphone in their child’s stocking aware that they may not ever be allowed to bring it to school. Whilst we had no feedback on this, we also received no complaints, suggesting this was a sensible approach.

Accepting that the research is patchy

Given all the current concerns about the impact of smartphones on young children, the academic research is still patchy, and often focused on older teenagers. Rather than present the issue as a settled argument we therefore explained to parents what we believed the evidence was showing us, linking it to the lived experience which we were seeing on children in terms of safeguarding concerns and negative impact on mental health. Again, these were shared with parents over the course of the year in the school newsletter.

Surveying the parental community

By the time we came to survey the parents at both schools (with a single question: should all smartphones be banned from school?) the parents had spent quite a lot of time absorbing the information sent out by the schools and discussing the issue between themselves.

The Blackhorse survey had a very high turnout (231 parents – about 75%) and a very clear result (including from nearly all Year 5 parents whose children would be most affected) with 87% voting in favour of a ban.

At Emersons Green (only a mile down the road from Blackhorse) the result was much closer with 58% voting in favour and 42% against, on a turnout of 81 parents (about 50% of the community). Unlike at Blackhorse, there was also more vocal opposition at Emersons Green with several parents voicing their concerns to governors about such a ban. I find it fascinating how two schools, presented with the same information, serving the same community, can have such different views on this subject.

Letting the governors decide

The final decision on whether to go ahead with a ban came down to the governors. It was a hot topic of conversation for both committees, with the views of both sides of the argument expressed (matching the safety and liberty arguments identified earlier). At Blackhorse, the vote passed unanimously, employing the precautionary principle that a ban would likely improve safety and reduce risk, with little negative risk in terms of safety. The vote at Emersons still to take place.

So from 1st September 2025 no Smartphone can be brought to school by a child at Blackhorse.

Since announcing the result, I have had zero emails from parents complaining about the ban, whereas I have had a good many parents thank the school for taking a stand.

We made sure to send out an FAQ (co-written by a parent governor who himself has a child in Y5) to pre-empt any practical concerns linked to safety and I’m sure there will be a few glitches as we move away from the established norm.

And whilst the outcome of this tougher stance is still very much unknown, I hope that it will start a wider debate on whether giving a child a smartphone aged 8 is akin to sending them up a chimney in 1880.

And if nothing else, my hologram will be able to look my great great grand daughter in the eye.