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France to trial ban on mobile phones in schools for students under 15 ‘Digital breakthrough’ If the trial is successful, it could be rolled out nationwide from January.
Nearly 200 secondary schools will take part in the experiment, with young people having to hand in their phones at reception on arrival. The ban on the devices goes further than a 2018 law that banned primary and secondary school pupils from using phones on school grounds but allowed them to carry them with them.
Outgoing Education Minister Nicole Belloubet announced the trial on Tuesday, saying it was aimed at providing young people with a ‘Digital breakthrough’ If the trial is successful, the ban will be implemented in all schools from January, Beloubet said.
A commission set up by President Emmanuel Macron was concerned that excessive screen time for children could have a negative impact on their health and development. A 140-page report published in March concluded that “There is a very clear consensus on the direct and indirect negative impacts of digital devices on sleep, sedentary behavior, physical inactivity, risk of overweight and even obesity, and vision.”
Excessive use of mobile phones and other digital technologies is not only harmful to children, but also harmful to them, says report “Society and Civilization”The report recommends controlling children’s use of mobile phones in stages: no mobile phones for children over 11 years old, mobile phones without Internet access for children between 11 and 13 years old, and mobile phones with Internet access but without social media access for children before 15 years old.
“We need to change the use of digital tools so that children don’t need digital devices to grow up, at least until the age of six.” said Servane Mouton, a neurologist and neurophysiologist on the committee. “We need to re-teach parents how to play with their children.”
Banning mobile phones in schools has long been a topic of discussion across Europe. In countries where bans exist, this is usually limited to their use and does not require children to hand them over.
In Germany, there are no formal restrictions, but most schools ban the use of mobile phones and digital devices in class unless for educational purposes. Italy was the first country to implement a phone ban, enacting a ban in 2007 that was relaxed in 2017 and re-imposed in 2022. The ban applies to all ages. In February this year, the British government issued guidelines School ‘bans the use of mobile phones during school hours’but said phone policies were decided by individual headteachers and leaders. Portugal is trying a compromise by introducing some phone-free days in schools each month, while in Spain some autonomous regions have implemented bans in schools but there is no nationwide ban.
Since the beginning of the year, a quasi-ban has been in place in secondary school classrooms in the Netherlands, but it is only a recommendation and not a legal obligation. From this school year onwards, the guidelines also apply to primary schools.
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