Lockable smartphone pouches being introduced to two RBWM secondary schools

Lockable phone pouches are being introduced at two Royal Borough secondary schools next week to crack down on smartphone use during school hours.

From Monday, June 2, students from both Furze Platt Senior School and Charters School in Ascot will be making use of these special lockable pouches to part them from their smartphones for the day.

They will be expected to lock their phones in a secure Yondr pouch at the school gates each morning, only unlocking them at the end of the day.

The pouches are operated with a magnet lock, using unlocking stations at the exits of the school. Yondr pouches are used in schools across 35 countries.

In a school newsletter, Furze Platt headteacher Dr Andrew Morrison said the decision followed months of careful reflection over the last six to nine months.

He said there had been ‘compelling’ accounts of the impact of smartphones on children’s education and mental health.

New rules

The policy change replaces Furze Platt’s previous rule, which banned phone use but relied on confiscation for enforcement.

Under the new system, students must bring their Yondr pouch each day. Students who forget their pouch must hand in their phone at reception and collect it at the end of the day.

If they forget it, they will get a break time detention, to cement the expectation that pouches must be brought in every day.

Moreover, if a student unlocks their pouch without permission, damages or uses an alternate phone, they can be subject to ‘disciplinary action.’ There will be random spot checks on the pouches to make sure students are abiding by the rules.

For families concerned about emergency contact, Furze Platt reassures them that existing procedures remain in place – contacting reception and allowing the school to approach the student at a time which is ‘least disruptive’ to their learning.

Charters is proposing a similar set of rules.

A PowerPoint shared with students and parents at both Furze Platt and Charters cited research that UK teenagers now spend more than seven hours a day on their phones.

It added that Yondr schools have reported ‘dramatic improvements in student wellbeing, academic performance, classroom engagement, and social connection.’

There were testimonials from headteachers and students alike, with one saying: “Most of the drama [at school] comes from social media. Now there’s not much drama.”

Future changes

On May 9, a local branch of a national campaign group, Smartphone Free Childhood RBWM, organised a meeting of more than 60 headteachers from across RBWM schools – state and private, at primary, secondary and middle stages.

That meeting featured speakers including Charters School headteacher John Fletcher and one of the founder members of the Smartphone Free Childhood movement, Clare Fernyhough.

Also attending was Damian McBeath, principal of John Wallis Academy in Ashford, who said the Yondr scheme had ‘transformed’ his school.

Jenny Knight, from Smartphone Free Childhood RBWM, said: “Headteachers present all agreed that a borough-wide approach to turning all schools smartphone free would help them to make the changes that are desperately needed for RBWM's children.

“All of those headteachers in one room, at a busy time in their school calendars, to engage in discussions about a Borough-wide approach – it was powerful.”