London school pilots 11-hour day with phone ban to improve wellbeing of pupils

24 April 2024, 17:51 | Updated: 24 April 2024, 17:52

A school in North London has announced a 10 week pilot of longer school days, including a phone ban, in a bid to boost students' well-being and communication skills.

All Saints Catholic College closely to Ladbroke Grove in North Kensington will introduce the scheme to give its students a "private school service".

But according to head teacher Andrew O'Neill, pupils will not be required to attend the school for the full day of nearly eleven hours.

Mr O'Neill, who won the Pearson National Teaching Gold Award for Secondary Headteacher of the Year 2022, explained the pilot for children in year 7 and 8 was "not compulsory".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, he said: "They don't have to come to breakfast, we're not mandating that these children have to be in for seven in the morning - we had about 25 children who were in and enjoyed a nice hot breakfast.

"We want to send children home with a bucket load of endorphins, rather than holing up in their bedrooms and looking at screens and not necessarily having those positive relationships."

He said the project was similar to a private school environment, where "a feature of that is receiving at the end of the school day time to complete homework or do prep, as it's called, and another aspect is playing sport and participating in fun activities.

"That's exactly what we're offering in the state system at pretty much low cost to families."

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He went on to say that the school had plenty of disadvantaged students and "the context in which we are working is really challenging - but our families are really aspirational and value the education that we offer".

Pupils participating in the pilot cannot use their phones at school but can have it in their bag, providing that it's switched off.

He added: "A lot of research that we're seeing now is pointing to a huge amount of rise in anxiety amongst pre-teens and teenagers, and it has been increasing since 2010, since the rise of the smartphone".

He said the scheme would only last for 10 weeks as "we wouldn't be able to afford it for the whole school year."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We published guidance earlier this year prohibiting the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including at break times.

"Our guidance backs headteachers to create safe and calm environments free from distraction so all pupils can receive the education they deserve.

"We support parents to make the right choices for their child regarding after school activities."

The voluntary-aided school offers co-educational learning for 11 to 16-year-olds, and educates 797 pupils, with forty per cent eligible for free school meals.

The pilot will cost parents £10 a week per pupil. Mr O'Neill says this can pay for resources and staffing, with support from Kensington and Chelsea Council, alongside educational charities West London Zone and Oracy.

A notice on the school's website revealed that the scheme featured breakfast, academic tuition in Maths and English, drama, sports and cooking, followed by a "family dinner".