VIEWSVIEWS & OPINIONOPINIO N


Phone-free Friday - raising pupils ’


awareness of phone addiction


Comment by SIMON HILL, Christ College Brecon Deputy Head


Thirty years ago, when mobile phones first hit the market, no one could have imagined the impact they’d have on society, especially its youngest members. Yet, we have seen a digital transformation, where society can stay in touch 24/7, affecting people in the workplace and pupils at school.


Mobile phones have many benefits in our everyday school lives; they can help with pupil safety, as children can


communicate changes in pick-up times with their parents and keep


connected while on school trips - they can even be used constructively in class for research purposes. Yet the extensive use of phones also reveals a negative side. Pupils feel under social pressure to maintain their online profiles and to constantly communicate through their phones. It has taken time away from face-to-face interaction, to the extent where pupils can become withdrawn from social activity.


That’s why our pupils have voluntarily decided to phones behind on Fridays, as part of a new opt-in p called Phone-Free Friday.


rogramm e leave their


At Christ College we don’t allow phones in the classroom unless with prior arrangement by the teacher. You will not using phones while walking around school or in the


lunch queue. see pupils


They are allowed to use them in common rooms in their houses and after their homework is complete. These standards are adhered to, but after reading research papers and news articles on the addictive nature of phones, I paid particular attention to how they impact our pupils’ interactions during lunch breaks in their houses and after school.We wanted to raise pupil awareness of this important topic and tackle it proactively in a way that empowers our pupils to make an informed choice.


During a school assembly last term, I spoke of the dangers of phone addiction. Follow-up conversations with pupils in the ir houses confirmed that there are concerns about phone addiction among our pupils. From this starting point we created a voluntarily initiative where pupils could decide to hand their phones in to their House Parents each Friday. Phone-free Friday was born.


It’s really having a positive effect. The initiative started in November and most pupils have chosen to hand their phones in each week. Many pupils have commented that leaving their phones behind has allowed them to focus more during revision and homework. Some Sixth Form pupils noticed how conversations in the Centre are growing. Phone-free Fridays are changin


g the way our Sixth Form


pupils interact with each other and with staff. It’s been a positiv e development which we hope to continu e.


,


As educators we have a duty to make our pupils aware of the issues we face in society.We need to provide our pupils with information, so they can make informed choices and together enjoy the benefits that technology brings while restricting the drawbacks that an addiction to screen-time creates.


Marc h 02 1 9 2019


Howtomake an even bigger diff re


fference:


be a “Conscious Leader” Comment by STEVE RA


selling book, Leadership Plain and Simple


Recently, I spent a day with a group of head teachers in a London borough. It was yet another worrying day with people in the world of education.


I’ve dedicated the last 25 years of my working life to helping people grow as leaders because, very probably like you, I’ve seen the massive difference leadership can make to the impact of organisations and


the lives of people within. I’ve helped grow leaders in the field of business, government, charities, sport and so on, but it’s what I’m seeing in the education sector that concerns me most.


Wherever I go, I’m seeing bright, capable, committed people, constantly busy, but not making the difference they are more than capable of. The London group agreed they were doing some leading but what was missing is what I call Conscious Leadership.When you’re a conscious leader, you’re aware of what’s happening around you and in particular how the people are, what they are focussing on, how they are feeling and how their energy levels are. This all contributes to how you can consciously bring yourself as a leader so you can get the best from people to help build the future you visualise.


Leading is a natural act and it’s most powerful when it is brought consciously. The reason I’m exploring this angle on leadership more frequently is because the world seems to be getting steadily busier and unless we pause to consider how we can bring ourselves to make the biggest impact, the days, the weeks and the terms can easily pass us by.


The good news is that we can all grow as conscious leaders, regardless of our title or position. Here are the key points we explored together on the day that would help them – and you – be a more impactful leader.


Most importantly, you have to want to grow as a leader.


You’ve applied yourself for years growing yourself as a teacher. But how much time have you spent consciously growing yourself as a leader?


Next, you need a mental picture of the ideal leader you strive to become.When the swamp of the present is dragging you down, you need to pause, connect with that picture and consciously make every effort to be that leader.


You’ll do this more easily if you have a simple model to work towards of what’s involved in being a leader. The leadership industry oftenmakes the topic too complicated; that’s why I created my simple approach of Future – Engage – Deliver – otherwise known as FED.


three parts:


I realised a few years ago that leading always boils down to these Firstly, when you’re being a leader, your thinking needs to start in


the future and is all about where you want to go and what you want to build and create. You’re alive with possibilities of what the future could look like, yet too many of us are bogged down in the present.


Secondly, you’re looking to engage people around you and bring them with you – this is different to ‘talkin g at them’ !


Thirdly, you’re then consciously learning how to bring the best out of them so they deliver with you more than originally seemed possible.


These are the three key aspects of being a conscious leader. I can promise that the more you practise them the more you’ll be alive and the bigger the difference you will make.


www. wwweducation-toda y.co.uk.co.uk 52 RADCLIFFE, author of the best-


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