Our view on smartphones in childhood

All ASSET schools are Primary schools. Some of our older children have smartphones, and although they don't use them during the school day, we know that they have become an increasingly significant factor in children's lives. For most of our children they have always been there, in the hands of the adults and young people around them, and often available to entertain, connect and communicate. Our children don't have experience of a time before smartphones existed.

We know most of our parents are concerned about the potential impact of smartphones on childhood, as parents frequently ask advice from school staff - particularly when out of school phone use raises challenges around safety and friendships. We conducted research with our families in the 2024-25 academic year and they told us that they have concerns, feel helpless as their child's peers will have smartphones and they don't want them to feel left out, and that they would appreciate a professional opinion and support from the child's school.

For this reason we have taken the decision to share our stance on smartphones, to support our parents in their decision making. 

• We think primary school children should only have limited, highly supervised access to smartphones, and would actively discourage giving your child their own smartphone.

• We believe childhood is a time that children benefit from real-world experiences, creative play and face to face interaction. 

• We believe a good primary school education should teach children the critical skills that will enable them to become responsible, thoughtful digital citizens before they have unsupervised access to an online world.

Our detailed guidance to parents can be found below. If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact us at info@asseteducation.co.uk