UK School's Student-Led Screen-Free Mondays Inspire Parents and Garner Government Attention

Schools banning pupils from having smartphones are commonplace. But what about a school where pupils ban teachers from using their smartphones, and then get their parents to join in? And not just phones: at Holy Family Catholic primary school in west London teachers are also barred from using laptops, monitors or tablets during the school’s screen-free Mondays, after an idea that came from the pupils themselves. [...] Hisae Suzuki, another parent at the school, said her daughter had been “a little bit addicted” to screens so the introduction of screen-free days was “a good reminder – we all knew about it but we didn’t do anything about it, we needed a trigger”. [...] Overall, Rutherford said the screen-free days had been a great success in making everyone aware of the impact of screens on their daily lives. “The discussions have the best things, getting parents involved and families taking part,” she said.