Government to spend €9m on pouches to lock phones away during school day
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The Government plans to spend €9m on specially designed pouches to lock away teenagers’ phones in an initiative to ban smartphones in post-primary schools.
Further details on the initiative, being rolled out by the Department of Education, were highlighted at a budget briefing on Wednesday.
It is expected that each pouch will cost between €20 to €30, and will be bought in bulk to bring the price down.
Schools will be able to control when students can access their phones through a central mechanism, according to Education Minister Norma Foley. Ms Foley said she was very conscious that mobile phone use in schools is a huge issue for parents.
The funding will allow for students to get a “mental health break” away from their phones during the school day, she said.
“I believe this will be an important and supportive, positive well-being initiative among pupils throughout our schools because it will allow them to learn in the classroom, make friends in school without the distractions that arise from the use of mobile phones.”
Schools will have the authority to decide what phone storage option to avail of, but it is likely that the storage solution most will opt for will be the pouches, Ms Foley said.
She ruled out other storage options already available to schools, such as lockers and school bags, as students can still access their phones throughout the day between classes.
Teachers and other school staff are already constantly monitoring whether or not students have their mobile phones on their person, she added.
She said:
International research on smartphones is “incontrovertible”, Ms Foley said. “Students perform better when they take a break from the mobile phone.”
“We’re ensuring that students do have a break away from the mobile phone, and we’re recognising that while they may bring the phone to school, during the day there is no access.
“In the overall context of what we are doing here, the €9m is a health and well-being measure. It’s to improve student learning outcomes, it’s to improve sociability, and to improve the experience within the school.”