As a school, we are looking at ways we can positively interact with our students’ use of technology and harvest the benefits to their education.  I have seen students using the camera functions for certain art projects and during home learning I saw some amazing videos of work the students had been doing in PE, Dance and Drama.

I have also been drawn into some of the quizzes in class time which are fantastic.  They are always very enthusiastically received by the class and I can attest to how enjoyable they can be and how much I have learnt.  I have been beaten by all the students who have ever challenged me at kahoot!

Having said that, in our role as Pastoral Managers, we have also been made aware of very dangerous aspects of having a smart phone in school.  We have been made aware of students anonymously dropping files onto the phones of others in the immediate vicinity.  The only way to avoid this is if the AirDrop facility is turned off.  Or…if the phones are turned off at school as per our school policy.  There are other safeguarding concerns surrounding students accessing unfiltered internet during their time in our care.  We will give students permission to turn on the phones at very selected times for educational purposes and then the phones must be turned off at all other times.  This also avoids the disruption to learning caused by message tones etc.  I know I find it very hard to concentrate if I know I have a message I have not accessed.

Please do not try and contact your children on their mobile phones during the  school day.  If you need to get a message to your children (and it really cannot wait until 3.05pm), please email reception or the pastoral team or call through to reception.  If your child needs to contact you, we will always give them permission to call from the pastoral office.

Any student who is seen on their phone during the day will receive a C5 detention.