We know that some parents give their child a smart phone for their safety and personal security. We also recognise that some parents allow access to social media and the internet on smart devices.

However, as a school team we are very aware of the real dangers that the internet, social media and smart phone access can be to young children and the negative impact these have on our children.

• 99% of children spend time online.
• 9 in 10 children own a mobile phone by the time they reach the age of 11.
• three-quarters of social media users aged between eight and 17 have their own account or profile on at least one of the large platforms.
• despite most platforms having a minimum age of 13, 6 in 10 children aged 8 to 12 who use them are signed up with their own profile.
• almost 3/4 of teenagers between age 13 and 17 have encountered one or more potential harms online.
• three in five secondary school-aged children have been contacted online in a way that potentially made them feel uncomfortable.
• there is a “blurred boundary between the lives children lead online and the ‘real world’”.

(Ofcom February 2024)

At George Tomlinson:

ALL mobile phones, camera and internet enabled smart watches (even in school mode), smart tags and any other electronic device are handed into the office on arrival to school. These are kept securely in the school office and returned to pupils at the end of the school day.

Pupils are NOT ALLOWED to access mobile phones, camera and internet enabled smart watches (even in school mode), smart tags and any other electronic devices during the school day. 

If Year 5 and 6 children walking to and from school on their own have to have a phone to contact parents in the case of an emergency, we strongly recommend that the phone is a “brick” phone and not a smart phone with internet access.

We strongly recommend that children younger than Year 5 do NOT have their own devices, unsupervised access to social media or unsupervised access to adult devices including smart watches with camera or internet access.

Please do not send your child to school with a smart watch with internet, call or camera access.

For more information about smart phone and mobile phone free children, please visit the following websites

Smart Phone Free Childhood

Phone Free Education

What can parents do to help protect children online and on the phone?

• Talk to your children about why it is important to stay safe online. Explain that whilst the internet is a fun, exciting and knowledge-rich tool, it is also a place where people may wish to bring them into dangerous activities or expose them to harmful material. It is important to be clear that you are not saying your child may never use the internet again, or that everything on it is harmful – it is about teaching them to have a greater awareness and to be able to manage and report any risks.
• Only give your children devices or access to devices that you feel comfortable with, and not as a result of peer-pressure deriving from their classmates and/or friends who are also using those devices.
• Set rules for access at home. For example, access and use of the internet is in shared spaces and not alone in their bedroom.
• Discuss rules for being online and draw them up together, including which sites, games, etc., are acceptable. If certain games are off-limits, try to explain why – for example, because of excessive violence. If your child uses online gaming, consider setting rules such as only talking to others in the same age range and having the conversation on speaker, rather than headphones, so you can monitor it.
• Discuss what information should be private and what is ok to share; for example, addresses and names. Names should never be given out to strangers online, as this could allow them to identify where your child goes to school or lives.
• Keep an open dialogue with your child – letting them know they can always talk to you about anything that has made them feel uncomfortable online is key to keeping them safe.
• Set parental controls – do this as a dialogue with your child so that they are aware of what they are not allowed to view; however, do not rely on parental controls on devices, as they are not always 100 percent effective, and many children know how to bypass them. 
• Make sure your child knows how to report or ‘block’ unsuitable content, messages or people online – show them how to block on the websites or games they frequently use and explain that they can always tell you, a teacher or another adult if they experience anything which makes them feel uncomfortable.

Here are some resources you can use to help you protect your children online:

• NSPCC – ‘Talking to your child about online safety’
• Childnet – ‘Have a conversation’
• Thinkuknow CEOP 
• UK Safer Internet Centre