New South Wales Labor Pledges to Ban Phones in Public High Schools

A student uses his mobile phone for research during a english lesson at the Ridings Federation Winterbourne International Academy in South Gloucestershire, England, on Feb. 26, 2015. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Mobile phones will be banned in New South Wales (NSW) high school classrooms if the Labor party wins the next state election in March.

A blanket ban on phones is already in place in primary schools but is optional for high schools to implement.

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns said he would extend the blanket ban to all high schools in a bid to stop classroom distractions and failing academic standards.

The ban would put NSW in line with Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania.

“We’ll leave it up to schools—whether they collect all mobile phones at the beginning of the day or they just make it a blanket rule that you cannot take it out of your bag,” Minns told 2GB Radio.

Students will still be able to use other devices such as iPads and computers to do schoolwork, but mobile phones were a “step too far” in the classroom.

Minns said that getting his children off devices and out to play sports outside was the biggest issue at home.

He added that during class, young people don’t have the maturity to make a proper decision between focusing on the educational problem at hand or using apps such as TikTok or Instagram.

“Tech companies have got the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen, and I’m worried that young people are guinea pigs for what we really don’t know what the long-term effects will be when it comes to mobile phone usage or social media,” Minns said.

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns speaks to the media during a press conference at NSW State Parliament, Sydney, Australia, on June 4, 2021. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

Improvements Seen After Phone Ban

The announcement comes after a high school in NSW reported it saw a 90 percent reduction in behavioural issues related to phones, such as bullying, after implementing a strict ban on mobile phones.

Davidson High School began trialling the ban in April, where students were given a lock-up phone pouch to put away their phones during the day and would only be unlocked when leaving school.

“After almost eight weeks in use, students are being more active in their breaks with plenty of handball and basketball taking place,” Principal David Rule said in the school newsletter.

“In the library, I am witnessing card games, board games, and also groups of students sitting in circles and talking to each other.”

“Classrooms have effectively become phone-free, and this has allowed staff to focus on educating students.”

A 2018 independent review into phone usage in NSW schools observed that new behaviour challenges for teachers and parents had emerged as a result of phone usage at school.

“Our research tells us that cyberbullying is an extension of young people’s increasing digital engagement and what is occurring in their everyday lives, especially the playground at school,” the report said.

There was also consensus across educators, parents, and students that mobile devices were a distraction in the classroom.

The report highlighted that just the presence of a smartphone was linked to declines of around ten and five percent in working memory and fluid intelligence, respectively, according to The Behavioural Insights Team from the UK.

It also cited another study by the London School of Economics that found test scores of 16-year-olds increased by over five percent where mobile use was prohibited by schools.

Minns said a phone ban would be a “massive change” for high school classrooms, but it would be the “right thing to do.”

“The evidence is clear, using phones at school hurts our kids,” he wrote on Facebook.