Mobile Phone Policy

Following a period of consultation with students, the school is relaxing its policy on the possession of mobile phones within school.  We have developed with students a code based on ‘Acceptable Use’.  We recognise that there are times when there are emergencies or changes in arrangements about which students will need to contact home.  Increasingly there are occasions in the classroom or on trips where the capacity to record, photograph or film an activity is positively useful and students, with the teacher’s permission, may often be encouraged to do this.  There may be material on the VLE which is available to download.

There remain, however, some significant down sides to the presence of mobile phones in school.  They have added new dimensions to bullying – unsolicited and unpleasant texting or calls, photographing or recording students or staff without their consent.  Such material is then circulated or placed on the Internet and this can be deeply hurtful.  Students doing this will be dealt with very severely.

Whilst we accept that there will be occasions when a call home is necessary, we do not accept that there is any need to phone or text friends.  This is not an appropriate priority for the school day.  Where there is a breach of the acceptable use code the school retains the right to confiscate the phone and return it in a time scale or manner we determine. 

There is an absolute ban on the possession of mobile phones and other devices in public exams.  This includes the controlled assessment coursework sessions which Year 10 have now started in some subjects and which Year 9 will be starting in Technology soon.  Last year a Guilsborough student had a paper cancelled by the exam board because he ignored this rule.  The school cannot and will not protect students against the consequences of ignoring this rule.  We strongly suggest that phones are not brought to school on exam or assessment days.  If they really are needed they must be handed in at the beginning of the exam or assessment.

Please can you support the school in making these issues clear and ensure that your children are aware of them.

Secondly, if the student decides to bring a phone to school, the security and well being of the phone are the student’s and not the school’s responsibility.  Many families do take out insurance to cover this and you may want to consider that option.

There is an accompanying presentation prepared by a group of Year 8 students and delivered in Assemblies recently which gives some examples of what we mean by acceptable and unacceptable use.

Student Mobile Phone policy: Click HERE to download