Primary pupils get parents and teachers to join screen-free days

Schools banning pupils from having smartphones are now commonplace.

- Richard Adams

But what about a school where the pupils banned teachers from using their smartphones, then got their parents to join in?

And not just phones: teachers at Holy Family Catholic primary school in west London 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.

Yvonne Rutherford, the school’s deputy head, said the initial screen-free days were such a success that it had become a monthly event on the school’s calendar. But she said the enthusiastic response from parents had been the biggest surprise.

“We didn’t really expect parents to take part, but it seems that after talking about it with their children, and reading about it in the school newsletters, they’ve wanted to be involved,” Rutherford said.

“After the first screen-free Monday some parents sent in photographs of the family activities they did in the evening. And that set off more so that now we get a flood of photos every month showing what they’ve been doing instead of screen time - playing cards and reading books, going for walks and doing sport with their children. It’s been great to see.”