LONDON: Schools cannot address issues with children’s smartphone use and screen time alone, British headteachers have warned.
Delegates at the annual conference in Belfast for the NAHT school leaders’ union voted in favour of a motion calling for national guidance on online safety to help families establish boundaries for their children with screens.
It comes after the government announced it would introduce some sort of age restriction on social media and would make phone bans in schools statutory.
The motion said that while schools play a "vital role” in online safety, parental support is essential as the majority of smartphone and screen use occurs outside school.
"Conference believes that schools cannot address these issues alone and that national action is needed to support parents in setting boundaries and to mitigate the negative effects of excessive screen time, including smartphone use and gaming,” the motion said.
Proposer Mustafaa Malik, from Gateshead, said when technology is introduced "too early, too often, without clear boundaries, it can undermine the very learning it is meant to support”.
"Across our schools we see the impact daily – children who struggle to sustain attention, pupils who find it hard to listen without constant stimulation. Increased impulsivity, disrupted learning and a rise in anxiety,” he added.
Schools cannot carry the responsibility to challenge screen use alone, he added.
NAHT should press the government to commission independent research into the long-term impact of early technology use on children’s attention, learning and wellbeing, the motion says.
It further calls for national guidance and a public health-style awareness campaign on online safety that enables families to establish clear boundaries.
It also called for the union to urge government and technology and gaming companies to help parents prevent video game addiction.
Malik said: "Without clear guidance, we could be sleepwalking into a situation where an entire generation of children are impacted so significantly they may struggle to successfully access the world around them for years to come.”
Motion seconder Laura Haines, from Worcestershire, said children are being kept in a "state of constant, fragmented attention”.
She urged NAHT delegates to support the motion for pupils, families "and the future of learning”.
The government said on Monday it will introduce "age or functionality restrictions” on social media for under-16s following widespread calls for an Australia-style ban on children’s use of social media.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall later said the government intends to put forward its proposals on this by the summer with plans to legislate before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the government also introduced an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – which has since received royal assent – to make a ban on phones in schools statutory.
However, it has been warned that schools need funding to invest in measures to actually keep pupils off their phones.
Guidance has already been issued for parents of under-fives which advises children should not be on screens for more than an hour a day.
For children under two, parents are advised by the Government guidance to avoid screen time except for shared activities encouraging interaction.
The government has previously said young children with the highest screen time see an impact on their language. – dpa
