1. Screens, mobile phones and the senior school
Prep school – phones are normally banned / tightly controlled
Senior School – should we do the same?

2. Comments slide 1 Most prep schools ban phones
Some senior schools have done the same, especially for year 9 and 10
Some people believe this a retrograde step – digital technology needs to be embraced and young people need to be educated to use them appropriately
Should focus on behaviour rather than technology
School have devised a policy written and agreed by students
This talk is about educating you to make self-disciplined decisions

3. Shut up!

4. Comments slide 2
Teenagers often get fed up with old people telling them about the problems with phones
They may have a point!
People have rejected and been fearful of technology throughout history
The Week commented that in 1887 there were calls to limit the amount of time people should spend on a new fangled piece of technology called a bicycle

5. Why do love our phone?

6. Comments slide 3 What happens to your brain when you use your phone
Dopamine
This makes us feel good
Addictive
Withdrawal
How many of you have become genuinely upset when parents have tried to take your phone away? Are you addicted?

7. Why are we worried about phones?

8. Comments slide 4
Traditionally, parents have been worried about ‘stranger danger’
This is still a very real and present concern
However, perhaps not the biggest concern at TS
The questionnaires you filled in for inspection show that you are very aware of this as an issue
However, we must not be complacent and you must look out for friends and support them – tell an adult – if you are worried

9. Addiction (and worse…)
Need 42 likes to be emotionally neutral

10. Comments for slide 5 What else are we worried about? Addiction
Long summer holiday
Detox?
Phones can be addictive in much the same way as other things can which produce a dopamine hit
Younger skulls are thinner than older ones… cancerous? The science on this is still young but latest surveys suggest it is an area which needs to be addressed

11. Sleep
Just over half of 11 to 17 year olds say they are getting eight or more hours’ sleep a night. Sleep experts say young people in this age group tend to need at least eight hours’ sleep to concentrate at school and to maintain their health and wellbeing.
Professor Jim Horne of Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Centre is an expert in sleep deprivation and says children going through puberty and adolescence need to “sleep longer and deeper”.
“It’s a time during which their brains are undergoing major change,” he says. “The brain is undergoing major restructuring and rewiring, and sleep is important for it to recover.

12. Comment slide 6 A huge worry
Teenagers are not sleeping as they used to
Screens emit a different light from a TV
This can affect your brains ability to switch off
Also, the addictive nature of a phone means we want to check it
Teenagers should never have a their phones in their rooms at night: get an alarm clock!

13. Bullying

14. Comments slide 7
Cyber-bullying: the school will take it very seriously and, from this summer, can be considered by the Police in the same way as verbal abuse.
If it happens: block them, report it and talk to someone you trust
Silence is not good enough. We are a supportive community so if you see a friend bullied on line then report it.
Cyber-bullying is horrible. It makes you isolated with no respite and nowhere to hide.

15. How is it different for you?
One student fancies another student
Tells someone
It becomes public knowledge
Student goes home with shame and is anxious
Respite?

16. Comments for slide 8
As the i-generation you have little concept of what life was like without phones
When we were at school….
We made mistakes; we said silly things; we passed notes around class and made fools of ourselves trying to impress the person we fancied.
Our ‘friends’ mocked us and at times bullied us for our mistakes
But… we went home; we have over 12 hours respite from our mistakes. Your mistakes are lived out on-line 24-7… so damaging
By the time we went back to school our mistakes were often forgotten; yours stay on line forever

17. Mental health ‘teens who spend 3 hours a day online are 35% more likely to have a risk factor for suicide….’

18. Comments for slide 9
Some psychologists now believe that young minds are simply not able to cope with mobile phones
In the past other addictive items – alcohol, cigarettes – were either banned or given an age restriction
Phones are being linked with ever worse mental health issues in young people
It has been estimated that it takes 42 ‘likes’ for a person to be emotionally neutral about a post: any less and they worry that their post in being mocked or was not popular
Institutions and parents must intervene to create clear boundaries for their use because the negatives are potentially fatal

19. Student Screen Policy Everything in moderation Self-discipline ABC
If someone tries to take your phone from you and you can’t cope then you need help…

20. Comment slide 10
We have chosen to embrace digital technology for the many social and educational benefits they bring
However, ‘everything in moderation’
We do not give teenagers 3 bottles of wine, we give them a small glass to let them experiment. The same principle applies
The policy was written by a group of 6th form phycology students
It fits with our belief that education is crucial as it helps students embrace Adversity, build their our Belief systems and understand Consequences (the ABC of Taunton School)