Smartphone Free Childhood Campaign
Welcome to the Smartphone Free Childhood (SFC) info hub for St Joseph's.
What is the issue?
- 94% of Primary School parents think smartphones are harmful (Parentkind Poll, 2024)
- 70% of parents believe smartphones negatively impact family life (HMD Poll, 2024)
- 90% of girls and 50% of boys say they are sent unwanted explicit content (Ofsted review of sexual abuse in schools, 2021)
- 37% children have had a stranger try to move them into an encrypted messaging service eg Whatsapp (HMD Poll, 2024)
- 50% of teens say they are 'addicted' to social media (Millennium Cohort Study, 2024)
- Teens with problematic smartphone-use are TWICE as likely to have anxiety and THREE TIMES as likely to have depression (King's College London, 2024)
and yet
- 89% of 12-year-olds in the UK own their own smartphones, spending 29 hours per week on them (Ofcom Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes, 2024; Childwise Monitor Report, 2021)
- 58% of teens say they have never had controls put on their phones by parents (Parentkind Poll, 2024)
- 47% of teens with parental controls on say they have bypassed them (Parentkind Poll, 2024)
How we can help:
This campaign for St Joseph's is run by parents, with support of the school, and is aimed at rallying support for those who would like to:
* Delay the introduction of smartphones for their children until Year 9: Sign our pact and join the whatsapp group
* Explore alternative options
* Find support within our school and local community, and connect with other like-minded parents and carers
Watch this short video to find out more about why we are doing this.
Sign the Smartphone Free Childhood Parent Pact:
In response to the nationwide outpouring of concern and support for a delay in the introduction of smartphones, the SFC movement has produced school-specific pacts.
Sign your name and signal your intention to delay giving your child a smartphone until they reach the age of 14. It’s voluntary and non-binding, but the more sign-ups we get, the easier it will be to start changing the norm in our school, for our children.
Our SFC Parent Support WhatsApp Groups:
Please see the QR codes below or click on these links to join our school-wide WhatsApp groups if you would like to find out more.
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Please support the national campaign and sign the Surrey pact using this QR code, or this website link: |
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If you would like to keep updated and be part of the community please join the WhatsApp group using this QR code or link: |
For more information, please see the National Smartphone Free Childhood website.
https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/
