The amount of time that children spend on their smartphones has become a concern for many parents, as data from OSF Healthcare estimates that children between ages 8-18 spend from six to nine hours on electrical devices on average per day. Now one London Catholic school is taking the lead, coming up with a novel way to keep kids off their phones: a 12-hour school day.
While it sounds like a great deal of time at study, the children do not spend any more time in classes than usual. Instead, the time not in class is spent on homework, club activities, physical games and sports, and they even eat breakfast and dinner together. The school, All Saints Catholic College, has reported great success in the program, becoming one of the most applied-to schools in London.
Engaging with the real world
MSN reports that the students are prohibited from bringing smartphones to school. This means that for 12 of a day's 24 hours, All Saints' kids are free of electrical devices and engage with the real world. While it is heartening to see the kids not glued to their screens, Headteacher Andrew O’Neil told MSN that it’s not about taking the phones away, but giving them something to engage with in place of devices:
"The thing they liked the most was the togetherness. You put kids together, eating or playing, and they just chat, take the mick out of each other, just do all the things that kids like to do — we're just organizing it for them."
The program is completely voluntary, with students who opt in required to pay £10 ($13) per week for the service, regardless of how many days it is used. Participating students have responded well to the program, with one mentioning that they were happy with getting their homework done before they went home and that they enjoyed the clubs and activities.
Another student even noted that their screen time is limited at home, so being without a phone wasn’t so bad. Meanwhile, a third student interviewed by MSN explained that his parents work late, so the extended time in school means that he doesn’t have to come home to an empty house. In this way too, he did not jump onto social media for hours between his arrival at home and his parent’s.
Better behavior
The program has been credited with several positive changes in the All Saints student body, including a 17% drop in uncompleted homework and a 15% increase in positive behavior logs. Furthermore, students who typically had a negative behavior log have been shown to respond well to the program, with a 60% drop in negative behavior incidents.
Still there are some kinks to be worked out of the system. Headteacher O’Neil explained that the school could not offer the program year-round due to practical issues, like the change in seasons shortening days. The school does not wish to send children home after dark during the winter months. He said that the school intends to bring the program back periodically until the logistics allow it to be permanent.
