SAFEGUARDING ISSUE: The UK government have failed to realise that children with mobile phones in schools are a serious safeguarding issue. Most phones are not just phones; they are sophisticated computers with many functions, they are cameras, video cameras and also have the ability to access the internet and upload videos and photos without needing to be connected to another computer.
Students have taken photos and videos of other students and teachers without their consent. They have then posted these to the internet and many videos; have been published on the popular website ‘youtube’. Published videos and photos of a child taken without the permission of that child, or their parents is a serious safeguarding issue because paedophiles (just like everyone else) have access the World Wide Web. Children have the right to feel safe in their school.
DISTRACTION DURING LESSONS: Mobile phone are brought into schools and used by children during lessons to text message, play games, make phone calls and play music. When students do this it distracts both the child with the phone and other students from concentrating on their work/studies during lessons. Children have been known to call friends and family during lessons while the teacher is addressing the class, the teacher has then sometimes been asked to be quite by the child! It is an endless impossible battle for education staff to try and police the use of mobile phones during lessons.
Use of mobile phones during lessons takes time away from teaching and learning, UK exam results will inevitably fall as a result.This will reduce our children’s’ chance of gaining suitable employment, or achieving the best they can in life.
SIGN THE PETITION TODAY: Please help to solve this problem our schools, children and educators face.