Secure phone pouches introduced in comprehensive schools 

Students in comprehensive schools locked their phones in secure pouches for the first time on Friday morning as a new strict mobile phone ban was introduced. 

The phone ban was introduced to 2,800 students across Westside and Bayside schools, who from now will be expected to lock their phones, ear pods and smart watches in secure pouches upon entrance. 

Earlier this month parents and carers received guidance about the ban and the mechanism to lock and unlock the pouches was installed within the schools.  

The Yondr pouches are specialised secure pouches which have been rolled out in schools globally and students are expected to keep the locked pouch in their bags or locker during school time. 

Students and parents were given no prior notice of the exact day that the new system would be introduced and on Friday pupils were called in year groups to collect their individual pouches. 

The Minister for Education, Dr John Cortes, said he had been in touch with both schools and was told the process was smooth. 

He told the Chronicle there were no reports of queues when locking and unlocking the devices and that staff had been briefed on the process ahead of the launch day. 

Dr Cortes said the schools will be improving Wi-Fi access in common areas for sixth form students, much of whose work is done online. 

This will allow them to work on their laptops without the need to connect to their phones to access the internet. 

The Wi-Fi in these common areas will have social media sites blocked, but students will be able to use the internet for their work. 

Bayside Head Teacher Gaynor Lester said there was no resistance from students on Friday morning and some had asked questions. 

She said there were extra unlocking stations in case needed but that the pouches were unlocked quickly meaning that there were no large queues as school ended. 

Ms Lester said that parents and teachers have been very supportive, and that the many students in Years 7 to 11 do not use phones. 

The school years most affected, she said, were Years 12 and 13 who have felt most aggrieved. These students will be able to use laptops for schoolwork on site. 

Phones have been banned for years during class time, however, this was being monitored with more difficulty in break times too.  

The pouches mean that students cannot access their phones at all during school time unless with permission. 

Ms Lester added that this will also help students to avoid distractions from phone notifications during school time. 

She said she had been impressed by the students and pleased by how smooth the process was on Friday.  

Ms Lester thanked staff and parents for their support throughout this process.