A lockaway ban on personal internet connected devices from home (smartphones, tablets etc)
The current advisory-only ban on smartphones in schools is clearly failing to protect children in schools in Scotland.
Too many children are being harmed - on a daily basis - by internet-connected devices brought into school from home.
Whether it is non-consensual filming, forced exposure to explicit violent and extreme content or cyberbullying - the list of harm is endless, commonplace and needs to stop.
The most commonly used apps are designed to be addictive, and as aresult children commonly find themselves unable to maintain focus on either learning or many other real-world social activities in school.
Wherever a school bans phones the improvements reported by both staff and pupils are rapid and stark. Children talk, play, learn and interact, and behaviour starts to improve.
It is profoundly unfair that some children are able to enjoy a phone free school, while others are forced to face daily abuse and exposure to harm.
The UNCRC is clear in Articles 19, 28, 34 & 36 adopted into Scottish Law, that Government must ensure that children have safe access to free education, and be protected from all forms of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation by media.
The lack of protection for all children from device-related harm in schools wherever they live in Scotland, means this is not currently happening.
Right
Children have a right to be educated without fear of harm from other children, exposure to extreme violence or sexual abuse, or exploitation by media.