Birkenhead Junior School
Birkenhead, Wirral · Primary · Academy · Suburban · 418 students
Policy: Full smartphone ban on school site. Brick phone alternative permitted: signed in at the school office, collected after school. Policy implemented September 2024.
“Get the data from your students. It makes it difficult to argue against the rationale and it almost makes the whole process feel straightforward.”
Maryanne Ramsbottom, Headteacher, Birkenhead Junior School
What prompted you to act and what was the turning point?
“Online issues had been a growing concern over a number of years. I was seeing increasing incidents of things happening outside of school spilling into school, particularly with group chats.
The real turning point was the data. We worked with a neighbouring authority on online safety and they did a survey of our pupils. The percentages were quite startling. The results showed very high percentages of children revealing they had spoken to somebody they didn’t know online and a high percentage had shared an image. That data was our starting point, and it was very hard to argue against.”
How did you implement the policy?
"We gave parents the outline of the rationale, gave them the data, and said: this is what your children are telling us and this is what we want to do to safeguard them. We gave them a timeframe and I held drop-in meeting slots: morning drop-off, after school, and an early evening session.
We found not one single voice was negative. I thought I would have much more push back and would have to do a lot more work in collaboration with parents. We also spoke to the student council and undertook a pupil voice survey, and a lot of what was said from them was really positive too."
What was your timeline for implementation?
Survey data gathered and rationale built → Parent drop-ins and student council consultation (May/June 2024) → Policy implemented September 2024 → Follow-up parent survey confirming full support (Year and a half in, 2025/26).
What objections did you face and how did you respond?
“I anticipated a lot more push back than we actually received. The data made it very difficult to really argue against the rationale. But the concerns that did come up were practical and every one had a clear answer.”
Objection: My child needs their phone to stay safe walking home. What if something happens?
Response: We offer a brick phone alternative which students hand in at the school office on arrival and collect it after school. That gives parents the ability to contact their child if plans change after half past three. There’s simply no reason for unsupervised access to the online world between school and home.
Objection: It’s not the school’s place to decide about smartphones. That’s a parenting decision
Response: I absolutely don’t want to tell parents how to parent; that’s not my remit. But we are educators, and education around the online world doesn’t just mean educating children. It means educating the wider community too. If somebody has a concern, I invite them in, really go through what they feel the problem is, and work through it together.
Objection: How will my child develop digital skills if you’re removing technology?
Response: We are absolutely not anti-tech. We celebrate STEM, we use Google Classroom. But we also looked carefully at what we were asking children to do at home and changed what didn’t fit our ethos. It’s about age-appropriate use of technology, not removing it.
“Families might think that peer pressure means everybody’s getting phones younger and younger, and when their child asks they will have to give in or they’ll be the only one. We want to say: no they won’t.”
What has been the impact?
In the first year we saw:
- 72% → 63% of students using smartphones at home (2024 → 2025)
- 81% → 64% of students using social media apps (2024 → 2025)
With this reduction in smartphone ownership and usage continuing in each yearly survey.
- 100% parents agreed with the policy
Children are present in the playground and younger ones aren’t seeing phones
"One of the things children most notice is the playground in the morning - they’re not seeing other children on their phones. I talk about it at nursery and reception welcome evenings: right from the start, parents know this is the ethos of the school. Families no longer feel they’re struggling alone with that peer pressure."
Parents feel supported, not judged
"A year and a half in, our recent parent survey returned 100% support – not a single negative response. Families are saying the ban has helped them have those conversations with their child about delaying getting a smartphone. The school rule has given parents cover to hold that line at home."
The ban has changed the school’s whole ethos, not just its rules
"It’s not just about saying you can’t have a smartphone. It’s about the culture of interaction, the culture of being present. We’ve gone further; by looking at what we ask of children at home, removing apps that didn’t fit our ethos, replacing screen-based maths homework with games families play together. "
What are your top tips for schools considering change?
- Start with the data. Get a survey out to your students; the results will almost certainly be more startling than you expect, and that data makes the rationale very hard to argue against.
- Share the data with parents in a letter, alongside wider research. Give them the time and the context before asking for their views.
- Offer face-to-face drop-in sessions, not just a form or a survey. Sit and listen. You may be pleasantly surprised by how much support is already there.
- Consult your student council. Their questions are valid and their voice is powerful. Sharing pupil support with parents is one of your strongest arguments.
“It’s not just about saying you can’t have a smartphone. It’s about the culture of interaction, the culture of being present. We really did take a wider view and the impact has only been positive.”