Fulham Boys School

Fulham, London  ·  Secondary  ·  Free School  ·  Urban  ·  800+ students

Policy: No-smartphones-on-site: no smartphones, smart watches or wireless headphones (Years 7–11). Basic non-internet enabled phones only. Six-week confiscation for any device found on site. View policy here.

"As a headteacher, there are so many things you have to fight for that you don't actually care about, but you have to do the right thing. This is an opportunity to fight for something you actually genuinely care about, where the impact is really, really clear."

David Smith, Headmaster

What prompted you to act and what was the turning point?

“Before the change, our policy was phones off, in bags, all day. The reality was, whilst you wouldn’t have seen a phone around the school, I’m sure students were using them in toilets, under the desk. Those things would have happened.

We read ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt, then did an anonymous survey of all our boys. It gave us all the information we thought was the reality: 97% had a smartphone; nearly all got their first at nine or ten years old; 38% had completely unrestricted access, any time they wanted, no parental controls. This was after years and years of us educating parents at open evenings and through letters home. It had made no difference; it was clear a stronger policy was needed.

For me it all came back down to the moral piece. We spoke to students, spoke to parents, sent letters home and decided on a very firm policy. No smartphones from Year 7 to 11, including smart watches and wireless headphones. If a device is found, it’s confiscated for six school weeks.”

What was your timeline for implementation?

Jan 2024: consultation on policy change began → Jan-March: SLT read ‘The Anxious generation’;briefings held with staff over their own phone use; students surveyed; → March 2024: Letter sent to parents to announce new policy → summer term 2024: assemblies to students to explain rationale; parents invited to drop-ins and online meeting; parent focus group established to discuss practical aspects e.g. getting to school, SEN, trips etc → September 2024: new policy began

What objections did you face and how did you respond?

“The objections we encountered were practical and emotional, and they came almost entirely from parents, not students. Students adapted far more quickly than their parents. For most children, you remove the device and they get over it very quickly. It's the parents that need help and support."

"You [a parent] have got one or two children. I've got over 800. If one of your children was addicted to pornography, what would you do? I've got hundreds. What do you think I should do?"

Objection: How will my child contact me if he's lost or late? How will I know they are safe?

Response: Students can still have a brick phone for communication on journey to and phone school. We have a strong focus on developing our students’ real-world skills: asking a stranger at a bus stop for directions, reading physical timetables, managing the unexpected without a device. Coffee mornings, and one-to-one meetings, addressed these fears directly with parents.

Objection: It's not the school's responsibility.

Response: Does a parent want me to only care between eight and four? Of course not. The parent wants me to holistically love and care for their child, inside school and outside. And when you get the opportunity to talk about it face-to-face, they completely agree.

Objection: I don't want my child to be anti-tech. You'll hold them back.

Response: Technology is amazing. But there are things more important than access to tech: it's character, integrity, resilience, mental health. You can pick technology up easily. But if we don't focus on character, you've lost it forever.

What has been the impact?

• 90% reduction in child sexual exploitation cases for our younger years as reported by our DSL 
• Safeguarding incidents outside school reduced by 60%

A dramatic fall in safeguarding incidents

“We've had a huge reduction in instances of child sexual exploitation for our younger years – including incidents of sexting and online grooming – and a huge reduction in bullying as well.” 

Students are talking to each other again

“Recently, we took 125 boys skiing to Italy. Children from other schools were on their phones. Our boys were just being children. They were having fun, they were talking, they stayed at a dinner table for hours, they were playing cards, playing games, being what a child should be.”

The school gets to shape the narrative first

“We have to educate around these things before our young people are exposed to them. It's the same with alcohol, it's the same with being online. We need to control the narrative. How do we get there first? How do we say: your body matters, your opinions matter, you have value, you have worth, before the world gets their claws into them?”

Teachers feel the senior leadership team are backing them

"We’re supporting the teachers to be able to focus on what they do best. That actually they have an opportunity to teach their students without there being a distraction. Even if a student has a brick phone in their pocket, they’re not going to get dozens and dozens of notifications throughout that lesson, and we are setting those teachers a real opportunity to make sure they can help those students."

What are your top tips for schools considering change?

• Engage governors, parents and students early, and give multiple opportunities to be heard. But lead: set out your position and hold the line.
• Run coffee mornings and drop-ins. Answer every parent question face-to-face. Train students in the real-world skills that fill the gap a phone used to fill.
• Make the consequences serious and mean them. Half-measures send the wrong message to everyone.
• You don't have to go first. Dozens of schools have done this now. Visit them and let their experience give you the confidence to act.

“There's nothing I've been prouder of than making sure that there is a generation coming through this school that are not going to be impacted by using smartphones. We're doing something now that's going to impact their children and their children's children."