'That's how it should be!' Parents back decision to ban phones at trust's Black Country schools

The Ormiston Academies Trust has announced it is bringing in the rules during the school day due to the the "negative impact" on children's mental health brought on by mobile phones.

The new policies will be introduced at eight of the trust's 32 secondary schools this term, with the remaining academies following after liaising with parents.

The trust runs a number of academies in the Black Country including Brownhills Ormiston Academy, Ormiston Forge Academy in Cradley Heath, George Salter Academy in West Bromwich, Ormiston NEW Academy in Wolverhampton, Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy in Oldbury, Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy in Pelsall, Ormiston SWB Academy in Bilston and Wodensborough Ormiston Academy in Wednesbury.

When asked by the Express & Star, the decision was praised by a number of parents who say "that's how it should be" – though some raised concern's over the safety of schoolgoers.

Writing to Facebook, mum Aimee Sidebottom voiced her agreement over the plans and said she hadn't given into the "peer pressure" of giving her daughter a mobile phone.

She wrote: "It should be banned in school time anyway, I thought they were. Kids need phones for safety when starting high school but they don’t need things like social media apps.

"My daughter’s nine [years old] and I’m so glad I haven’t given into peer pressure and let her have a phone. Let children be children."

Carina Fisher also agreed on the trust's decision to ban phones during the school day.

She commented: "That's how it should be. Kids don't need to use their phones in school."

Floydy Houghton described the mobile devices as "accidents waiting to happen" due to youngsters being distracted by them when travelling to school.

He wrote: "Good! There should be a complete ban on the things in schools and metal detectors and searches on doors and school gates.

"I'm sick of seeing kids putting there life's in danger on [their] way to school as they are just not concentrating on anything but the screen at the end of there nose. Totally dangerous, accidents waiting to happen."

Angie Owen however raised concerns of the safety of children.

She wrote: "Some parents rely on there kids ringing them to say they [are] on way home, It's not like years ago, it's not safe anymore."

Mum Gemma Read meanwhile said she had found a solution and sends her child to school with a "basic phone" to keep in contact with him, rather than a smart phone.

Writing to Facebook, she said: "I agree with [the phone ban], I've brought my son a basic phone to call and text me if and when he needs too smart phone stays at home."

Clare Slater said the phone ban was "fine" but added: "Teachers need to accept they can’t ask kids to then use phones to take pics of homework etc."

Ormiston Academies Trust said it was "piloting different approaches" to the phone ban at a quarter of its secondary schools.

A spokesperson said: "Moving forward and over time, we believe it is desirable for us to move to a position where children do not access their phones at all throughout the school day.

"Teaching and learning, behaviour and children’s mental health are all impacted negatively by mobile phones."

Ormiston Academies Trust chief executive, Tom Rees, told The Guardian the trust was "seeing huge and real concerns" about pupils' mental health with a "clear correlation" between those issue and the use of phones and social media.

He said: "Not all mobile phone use is equal and the relationship between that and adolescent mental health, we think, is overwhelming."