Principals wary of loopholes as school phone ban begins
The Government’s nationwide school phone ban is set to come into effect from today as students begin Term 2. But some principals expect “teething problems” and wonder if devices such as smart watches or AirPods will provide a loophole to get around the ban.
A ban on cellphones in schools was one of the Government’s key policies in the lead-up to last year’s general election to help lift educational achievement, reduce online bullying and remove distractions from the classroom.
The legislation states the ban will impact all students, including primary, intermediate and secondary-aged children.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he hopes the ban will “turn around falling achievement — students need to focus on their schoolwork during their precious classroom time”.
“That means doing what we can to eliminate unnecessary disturbances and distractions.”
From today, students are expected to have their cellphones turned off and away from their person all day, including during breaks and between classes.
Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand (Spanz) president Vaughan Couillault says many schools have implemented the rules since the start of the school year.
Schools will be able to decide exactly how they enforce the ban, but it could mean requiring students to hand in their phones before school or leave them in their lockers or bags.
Papatoetoe High School had not received a significant amount of negative feedback since implementing the “gentle ban” in February, Couillault said.
At this stage, the use of laptops at break times is exempt from the rules as they are connected to the school network and can be monitored.
Couillault said other “notificationbased devices”, such as smart watches, which had the potential to distract students, “haven’t been explored yet”.
“It all starts to get a bit complicated” when other devices with an ability to connect to the internet were discussed.
New Zealand Post-Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA) acting president Chris Abercrombie was “hopeful everyone understands the benefits. It’s a Government policy, not just a school’s”.