Belfast school’s new phone policy aims to stop online bullying

BELFAST Royal Academy has launched a new mobile phone policy in a bid to tackle cyber-bullying.

In a letter to parents on the new policy, the school said it had been introduced “in a response to an increase in negative behaviours”.

Phone use has been heavily restricted by the school, with those students below sixth form being required to keep their phone switched off and out of sight at all times.

If students are seen using their phone or displaying them publicly, they can be confiscated by staff for up to one week.

Students are also prohibited from using the phones on school buses and visits to sports venues or school trips.

Sixth form pupils are permitted to use phones before school, at break time, lunchtime and during their recreational periods, as the school recognises they “are preparing for independent study at university”.

Principal Hilary Woods, in her

Letter: Hilary Woods

letter to parents, said the policy was combating negative behaviours, including “pupils taking photographs and videos of other pupils during the school day and posting them to social media in an attempt to humiliate them”, as well as pupils videoing teachers in class and uploading to social media.

Other issues included preventing exam cheating and allowing pupils to create WhatsApp groups to make hurtful or inappropriate comments about others.

Mrs Woods also expressed concern about the “impact of social media on young people’s well-being”.

Since the policy was introduced at the beginning of term, the head teacher said staff had reported a significant reduction in disruption to lessons and no incidents involving mobile phones being used to take photographs or videos of school pupils.

She acknowledged that a number of parents had raised concerns around being able to contact their children, but said that the “vast majority” are very supportive of the new policy.

Parents with concerns around contacting their children are advised to buy a basic pay-as-yougo phone with no camera or internet, which could be used by pupils if parents are concerned about their journey to and from school.

However, it will still be confiscated if used during class.

“It is noteworthy that in a school population of 1,450 pupils, since this policy has been introduced, we have only had three queries which were related to the journey to and from school,” she said.