A school in Cork has come up with a novel way of making sure the classroom is phone free- by making students lock up their phones on the outside of their lockers.
The Ursuline Secondary School in Blackrock has installed the new system on their students’ lockers and it seems to be working a treat.
In a post on social media the school wrote: ‘What a great vibe in the school… mobile phones away, mood up, more conversation, great buzz around the place! Phone away boxes working well.’
The system is used by schools across the country as a way of limiting the use of mobile phones during school hours.
One school that previously installed the system praised it for having a positive impact on their students.
In a testimony posted on the company’s website they wrote: ‘The ‘Phoneawaybox’ is conveniently and securely attached to each student’s locker and results have significantly improved.
‘I am very proud that we are enabling students to take responsibility for their own learning by implementing the rule that all phones must be in their ‘Phoneawaybox’ during class time.’
But in a response to the post on the Ursuline Twitter page, one person asked what happens when a pupil ‘puts in an old phone’ and keeps their mobile device on them.
But a parent said their daughter’s school had introduced a similar system which was working well.
They wrote: ‘My daughters school has just brought in the yondr pouch for phones. Kids have to put the phones in the pouch at the beginning of the day and it’s locked until they are leaving at the end of the day. Great idea.’
While another person similarly approved writing: ‘Brilliant idea and a great way of ensuring that students are actually present in the moment and experiencing school as they should be.’