Elite Perth school swears off smartphones as youth social media ban looms

A prestigious Perth private school’s move to extend a ban on smartphones for its year 7 students has been hailed by an education expert, but that praise comes with a caveat.

Hale School in Wembley Downs announced on Thursday it was extending the policy of delaying junior and middle school students’ access to smartphones and social media – first introduced last year – on the back of overwhelming parent support.

A perth school initiative that delays social media and smartphone use in year 7 students has been extended to year 8 as well following glowing feedback from parents.Credit: Getty Images

Feedback from the school’s year 7 parents overwhelmingly believed the initiative had been a success, and the majority supported the school extending the initiative to encompass year 8 students – which it now has.

Under the policy, students do not own smartphones or smartwatches, and do not access social media.

If a phone is “absolutely necessary”, a ‘dumb phone’ – one without any modern internet-connected luxuries – can be used but must be kept unreachable during school hours.

Headmaster Dean Dell’Oro said the initiative was a collaboration between families and school staff, and it wouldn’t have succeeded if families hadn’t come together to support it.

“We knew parents were concerned about the digital world and wanted to protect their children, but felt somewhat helpless on their own,” he said.

Professor Karen Murcia, from Curtin University’s School of Education, said the “co-design” approach of the policy was something that could and should be extended across schools in a wide range of contexts.

However, Murcia cautioned the policy may not work in all schools.

“One of the things that we’re seeing and knowing is that phones are actually often the access that some communities and students have to information and connecting with QR codes and all the other educational supports that the phone provides,” she said.

“So the phone, in some ways, is creating the bridge in these digital divides in some of our remote, less connected communities.

“So it might work at Hale, but it’s not going to work for every community.”

The news comes after students at another Perth school voluntarily decided to get ahead of the incoming national social media ban for under-16s.

John Septimus Roe students swore off social media ahead of the national ban’s implementation in December, with parents at the Mirrabooka school urged to enforce it at home after school and on the weekends.

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Year 9 student Jasmine Cacciola told this masthead in July she had signed up to the program as she found it difficult to get off the apps once she started scrolling.

“I always find myself scrolling at night, I find it quite addictive,” she said.

Murcia said the Hale School initiative was “aligned” with the government’s social media ban, but urged a focus on educating children and students to be “digital citizens”.

“And that does involve generating and developing capacities for self-regulation, that social and emotional awareness within the digital environment, and building all those competencies,” she said.

“We can’t avoid it. It’s here. It’s not going away. So how do we actually give [students] the capacities and skills that they need to be safe, well-balanced, creative and connected digital citizens?”

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