19th August 2024
Mobile Phone Guidance for Scotland's Schools was published by the Scottish Government on 15 August 2024. You can read the full document here.
The purpose of the guidance is to support schools to develop their own policies regarding the responsible and respectful use of mobile phones.
The guidance recognises mobile phones and other technology can be important tools for supporting young people’s learning and communication, access to services such as ordering school lunches or monitoring medical conditions, as well as providing a sense of security for parents, or for young carers who need to keep in contact with home. However, they can also create challenges when misused, such as causing distractions in class, or when used to bully and harass other pupils and school staff.
It sets out guiding principles and key features of a respectful and responsible use of mobile technology policy. The guidance also emphasizes the importance of involving the whole school community: young people, parents and school staff. It also points to other relevant policies and resources.
Guiding principles include:
- The need to consider the relevant rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- The need to protect both pupils and staff from the risks of mobile phones.
- The importance of engaging with the whole school community, children and young people, parents, and school staff. This includes seeking their views and taking their feedback on board when developing policies as well as making sure everyone is aware of the policy.
- Targeting behaviours and/or functionalities of technologies that may be used inappropriately, such as sending or receiving messages or notifications, playing videos or music, or recording videos or audios in class, to develop approaches that may apply to a range of mobile technologies.
- Clear expectations of what standards of behaviour are expected and what actions will be taken if these are not met.
The policy should cover these broad categories:
- Digital etiquette (standards of conduct for pupils and staff when using mobile phones)
- This includes clear guidelines on when mobile phones can be used for learning, consideration of when phones may be used by pupils with particular needs, and clear practices for potential restriction, safe storage and return of phones.
- Digital rights and responsibilities (what individuals can and cannot do)
- This includes consequences for misuse of mobile phones, protocols for reporting misuse, and support for pupils or school staff subject of harassment.
- Safe and secure use of mobile technology (precautions that can be taken to ensure digital safety).
- This includes emphasising the need for safe and responsible use of mobile phones by pupils and staff outwith formal learning and teaching purposes.
There are reminders about legislation too:
- Staff cannot in law look at the content on a young person’s phone without consent from the young person, or from their parent/carer if they don’t have the capacity to consent.
- People cannot be photographed or filmed without their consent; nor can photographs or films be shared in any way without a person’s consent.
- Where potentially criminal events have been recorded using mobile technology, this should be drawn to the attention of the police.