04 Jun Schools as charities: legal and regulatory update Fri
07 Jun The New Art of Headship Tue
11 Jun Introduction to VAT for schools Tue
18 Jun Questions that Heads should be asking their team about VAT policy and detail Tue
18 Jun So you want to be a bursar? Tue
25 Jun Holiday Pay Update Fri
28 Jun Gender Questioning Pupils - unpacking the guidance, law and best practice Fri
28 Jun VAT on school fees update More Upcoming Events
Smartphone Free Childhood (SFC) is a grassroots movement aiming to change the norm around when parents buy smartphones for their children. Started in Feb 2024, it has grown rapidly to almost 100k parents comprising groups in every county in the UK. In Britain today, 24% of 5-7 year olds now own a smartphone and by 12, 97% do. When parents first started giving smartphones to their children, we didn’t know the impact they would have. Now, the evidence is clear and we need to act. Research has shown that the younger a child gets a smartphone, the worse their mental health will be. Smartphone Free Childhood is calling for parents, schools, government and tech companies to come together and change the norm around when children receive smartphones.
SFC has recently published its evidence pack for school leaders which outlines smartphone harms and offers policy recommendations based on the work of other schools. These can be downloaded here. Its schools engagement group is now planning webinars for heads and deputy heads interested in the topic as well as a kitemarking scheme to allow parents to choose schools based off their smartphone policies. If you are interested in hearing more, or getting involved with the campaign, please contact Will Orr-Ewing on will@keystonetutors.com
Source: SFC
Summer term regional group meetings will take place as follows:
- 6 June at 2pm - North West
- 10 June at 1.30pm – North East, face-to-face meeting at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Wakefield Grammar School Foundation)
- 12 June at 9am - East Midlands
- 13 June at 10am – Solent, face-to-face meeting, Princes Mead
- 17 June, time TBC – Surrey, face-to-face meeting, Daneshill
- 19 June at 10am – EABA, face-to-face meeting, Homerton College
- 26 June at 9.30am - Severn & Avon
- 27 June at 9.30am - West Midlands
Quishing is becoming a threat; it is defined as tricking someone into scanning a phony QR code with their phone or device. The QR code then takes the user to a fraudulent website that might download malware or ask for sensitive information. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has some useful guidance here as does the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
This bulletin will also be made available through the Independent Schools Council (ISC) for onward communication to schools.
This publication is generic in nature and advice should be taken in respect of your specific circumstances.
At the end of April the DfE issued new non-statutory guidance: Protective security and preparedness for education settings (applicable to England and Wales). It aims to improve security awareness, help staff and learners identify security vulnerabilities and suspicious activities, and set out practical, low-costs steps to improve preparedness and response plans. As well as the guidance itself there is a useful self-assessment template for schools to check their security arrangements and preparedness for an incident.
In addition, the Department for Education has worked in collaboration with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) and sector partners to produce a range of free, related resources. This includes an e-learning package for staff and lesson plans to use with students (11+).
The guidance and resources may help schools prepare for the introduction of Martyn’s Law (the Protect Duty) which is expected to become law some time in 2024.
Editor’s note: does not apply to Scotland. The DfE published guidance in February 2024 to help schools develop and implement policies to prohibit mobile phone use, along with other similar smart technologies, as part of a plan to "minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms".
The guidance is non-statutory and is not prescriptive in its recommendations. Schools are encouraged to develop policies that suit their individual contexts/circumstances. Different approaches could be adopted for different groups of students, for example some schools may wish to limit (rather than prohibit) use of devices by sixth-form students to their common room areas, and not in front of younger pupils. The emphasis is placed on creating policies that are accessible, consistent, and easy to follow and aligned with the school's values.
The guidance includes some examples of approaches schools can take, including banning mobile phones on school premises, handing them to staff at the beginning of the school day, storing them in secure lockers throughout the day, or allowing pupils to retain possession, but adopt a 'never seen or heard' approach, with appropriate sanctions imposed if the policy isn't followed.
Whatever approach schools adopt, they need to be mindful of the need to be flexible enough to make adaptations to their policies where individual pupils need access to mobile phones during the school day e.g. young carers need to contact those they are caring for, or boarders need to be able to contact parents who are overseas.
Schools also have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of disabled students and this may involve access to mobile phones e.g. pupils with medical conditions such as diabetes may need their mobile phone to check blood glucose levels throughout the day. Schools are advised to assess each case for adjustments or adaptations on its own merits.
Schools are signposted to the DfE's Behaviour in schools guidance which has also been amended to include content on mobile phone use by pupils. Again, schools can be flexible about the range of sanctions they impose for breaches of the policy, so long as it is appropriate to their context and pupil cohort - it could include detention or confiscation. Whatever the sanction, schools should consider whether it is reasonable and appropriate, whether there are special circumstances relating to the pupil being sanctioned (e.g. age or special educational needs) and what outcome the school is trying to achieve by taking disciplinary action.
As the guidance is already in force, schools should now consider the following:
Reviewing/updating existing policies
Schools need to determine what they consider to be appropriate in terms of mobile phone use and ensure this is clearly documented and understood. There is no need for a separate policy - it can be incorporated into a behaviour or acceptable use policy. The relevant content should be published either on the school's website or another website which parents can access.
Communication with parents/carers
The DfE has stressed the importance of involving parents and pupils in discussions about mobile phone policies. Additional materials have been provided to support these conversations and help to ensure that the policies are well understood and supported by all stakeholders. Parents/carers should also know who to contact at the school to ask for adaptations or reasonable adjustments to be made.
Early reports suggest parents are supportive of the new measures. We note the reports of parent groups seeking broad agreement to restrict mobile phone use in their child's year group at primary level, which schools may wish to consult on. Parent polls taken since the guidance came into force seem to support restrictions on the sale of smartphones to children under the age of 16 and stricter controls on access to social media apps, notwithstanding Meta's decision to reduce the age limit for the use of WhatsApp in Europe to 13 in recent weeks.
Communication with pupils
If schools already have policies in place, this is an opportunity to reinforce the policy and communicate what the school is trying to achieve. If the school decides to implement a new approach, they should also make sure pupils are informed well in advance of the changes so they are clear about its purpose, sanctions, and any reasonable adjustments or adaptations that can be made, depending on personal circumstances.
Source: VWV
Editor’s note: does not apply to Scotland. At the end of last year the Government consulted on IICSA’s recommendation that a mandatory reporting duty should be introduced. On 9 May 2024 the Home Office published its response to the consultation and tabled amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill which will ultimately bring the duty into law.
There may be further changes as the Bill progresses through Parliament and there will be more detailed guidance in due course. In the meantime, our initial thoughts on developments of particular relevance to schools are as follows:
- The duty would make it a legal requirement for people engaging in 'relevant activity' in England to report child sexual abuse to the police or local authority when they have reason to suspect that it has occurred because:
- it is communicated to them (to include non-verbal communication) by a child or by the person who has carried out the abuse
- they witness the abuse happening or they see or hear it on an image/recording.
- The proposed reporting exemption for consensual peer relationships over the age of 13 would remain.
- Failing to make a report when required would not be a criminal offence but would instead result in the individual’s referral to the DBS and/or professional regulator.
- A new criminal offence of seeking to prevent a report being made (‘obstructing a reporter’) has been introduced.
- A report would not need to be made if another mandated reporter is known to have made a report or will make one in the near future, preserving the role and existing process of designated safeguarding leads.
- A reporter would not breach the duty if they delay reporting because they consider that doing so is in the best interests of the victim (for example, until a mental health crisis has de-escalated).
- A parent/carer who is acting in what they consider to be the best interests of their child would be exempt from the criminal charge of obstructing a reporter (unless serious offences – e.g. bribery, threats, blackmail – have been committed).
- ‘Confessions’ from a perpetrator would only engage the duty if that person is over 18 years old, to avoid disincentivising young people from accessing support for harmful sexual behaviour.
- A ‘reasonable person’ test in the draft legislation is designed to ensure health professionals are not required to report mentally ill patients who disclose false memories or delusions.
Once the Criminal Justice Bill receives Royal Assent, the government will produce guidance to provide more details about what individuals will need to do under the new duty and the role of organisations in supporting their staff and volunteers to comply.
There will be an implementation period, likely to be at least 12 months following Royal Assent, so schools should have time to consider how the new duties will sit within their existing safeguarding policies and procedures. In particular it will be important to plan training for staff and communication with parents and pupils regarding the new requirements. Schools may also need to review internal communication protocols to consider how individual members of staff will know that the DSL has made or will make a report in relation to a particular case.
The NSPCC is running a series of webinars on the mandatory reporting duty in June (including one specifically for schools) – please click here for more details.
Burgess Hill Girls - Director of Finance and Operations – Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill Girls School is a leading day and boarding school for girls aged four to eighteen. The school stands in 14 acres of beautiful grounds within a conservation area and only a five minute walk from the railway station.