Principal: We need a smartphone ban in all our schools

School head says kids as young as 11 can view sex on phones

PORNOGRAPHY must be discussed with primary school children because it’s so easily available to them, a principal has warned.

Patrick Martin, principal of St Mochta’s National School in Co. Louth, said children as young as 11 can now view porn on their smartphones.

Mr Martin said children’s access to porn is distorting their expectations of sex, and that adults are doing a ‘disservice’ to them by ignoring its influence.

‘If you’re going to shy away from putting an age restriction on access to phones, it’s frightening to say it, but things like pornography will have to be discussed at primary school level,’ he said.

His comments come as a number of school principals expressed their disappointment at the Education Minister’s failure to issue a clear directive on smartphone use in schools.

It was announced yesterday that Richard Bruton will ask every school to discuss with teachers, pupils and parents how internetenabled devices should be regulated in schools.

Each school will then have to publish a parent and student charter that would provide a guide for schools.

However, each individual school will have the final say on what policy they will adapt.

‘That is a huge issue and no one wants to talk about it and pretend that it’s not happening, but the reality is that kids as young as, I’m sure certainly 11 or 12, are viewing this material because it’s literally at the touch of a button.

‘People are amazed by it, but no one should be amazed by it because everyone knows it’s there and it’s incredibly accessible and kids stumble across it.

‘Kids find it out of curiosity,’ Mr Martin said. ’

The principal, who fully supports this paper’s campaign to introduce a minimum age on smartphone ownership, said that online content should be discussed with primary school children, regardless of whether or not an age limit applies.

While principals and teachers have told the Irish Daily Mail that they are happy to see parents being engaged in the discussion announced by the minister, the move has been described as a ‘cop-out’.

When asked yesterday why he is going through public consultation to address the issue of a smartphone policy, when this process was not used before introducing the smoking ban, Minister Bruton said that parents and teachers are in the best position to make decisions on the issue.

‘Clearly some schools believe that it is productive to have a bring-your-own policy, for example, so people use their own technology for specified purposes,’ he said.

‘So there is no doubt that unrestricted phones or mobile devices could be very distracting, could deflect from the work of the curriculum, but with appropriate use policies, very different outcomes can occur. So I think, rather than jumping to a conclusion that something has to be done, what we need to do is look at a framework in which we can get the best use of technology in our schools, and not have the damaging uses that are undoubtedly are out there.’

Mr Bruton said that he recognises that there are potential downsides of mobile devices in a learning environment, as well as benefits of using technology in an appropriate manner.

Fianna Fáil’s education spokesman Thomas Byrne hailed the news of the charter as a ‘non-announcement by Richard Bruton’.

‘He has been heralding the Parent and Student Charter Bill for a long time,’ Mr Byrne said last night. ‘What he is saying about smartphones, that is completely meaningless. He is basically saying that schools can make their own rules – sure we know that.

‘That’s known and I think Richard Bruton was looking for a cheap headline rather than actually making a significant policy statement.’

Independent Senator Victor Boyhan welcomed the fact that the minister has initiated a debate on the issue.

However, he told the Mail he believes Mr Bruton should introduce consistent guidelines on the matter.

Mr Boyhan said that teachers ‘are crying out for direction, not vague guidelines’.

Mr Boyhan said: ‘I think, basically, there needs to be consistency.

‘We can’t have a situation with different schools and colleges applying different rules.

‘Technology has to be embraced, it’s very important that people understand the power.

‘With all the debate we have had in the past few weeks about Twitter, technology and the power of it, and how it can be abused and misused, I think we need absolute strict regulations.

‘Guidelines is even too vague, we need a code of conduct.’

‘We need a code of conduct’