Mobile phone ban an instant success in Laois secondary school

A year ahead of Minister for Education Norma Foley's planned ban of mobile phones in school, one Laois secondary school has already taken the plunge, and surprisingly students are happy about it.

Mountmellick Community School began the first morning of September term by getting all 700 students to place their phones into signal blocking pouches which were then locked for the day.

It had followed consultation with parents, staff and the school board who gave it near unanimous support, and an undisclosed initial investment by the school to Irish company Phone Locker for all the equipment.

The locks work like security tags in shops. Release devices are kept in code activated boxes installed on walls around the school.

These are opened by staff after school, with students queuing up to quickly unlock and check their missed alerts, to a chorus of beeps in the corridors. Senior students are also allowed to unlock theirs during lunchtime because they have the privilege of leaving school for their break. 

The cost is a €10 rental fee per year per student, with the school expecting to recoup their initial outlay within a few years.

Some sixth year students gave their reactions to the Leinster Express / Laois Live, in school on September 5. 

Cillian Masterson and Chloe Bray with their Phone Locker pouches beside the wallmounted coded unlocking device.

"Generally it's a good thing, but it does have a downside, if you need to look up a definition or use Google Classroom. But this makes the class more interactive," Cillian Masterson said.

"I think it's good, it takes away any distraction, especially with exams coming. Your urge is to go on your phone but you can't. It will probably help me in future. At home there are so many distractions," Chloe Bray said.

For Aoife Grehan, the habit is already lasting into homework time.

"It actually helps at home. I feel I'm not looking to go on it. I don't feel I need to have it in my pocket all the time. When I get out of school I'm on it straight away. I have a fitbit but because the signal is blocked I don't get notifications so I'm not even thinking about it. If my parents want to update me about something on at home, I can get it at lunchtime, that's peace of mind.

"The only downside is asking to get it unlocked if I have to go into the town to buy anything," she said.

Student Sean Dunne says his screentime has dropped from five or six hours a day, to just one. However he experiences a social downside.

"It does help me focus more in class, however it affects my social life. My friends are not at this school, so we aren't talking as much because I'm not active online. But it feels good overall and it feels necessary," he said.

For student Sam Dunne, who used his phone more often for school work than social media, it's not as beneficial.

"I can do most things I did before but it's more inconvenient. My parents are not fans, they have to text the school, not me directly, I go to study so I don't unlock my phone until 6pm," he said.

Cian O' Reilly says "I don't mind it, it makes me work harder in school. You do try harder in class".

Principal Larry Curtin explains that teachers carry mobile unlocking devices, so that students can use their phones for supervised school work any time during the day or at evening study.

"If it's a home ec or science project we can allow flexibility in class if necessary. We have mobile laptops and computer rooms too," he said.

He explains why they decided to go ahead of the posse.

"With the proliferation of smartphones over the last few years, the vast majority of students had them. There is plenty of evidence that teens and adults are a lot more connected now than they were 20 years ago. That sort of expectation is a pressure. It was becoming more challenging to have a phone free school.

"The feedback from our consultation was hugely positive. We had to develop a system that was effective, and cost effective. We decided on a rental scheme, so if there is a malfunction we will replace the pouch so it takes the responsibility off parents. There is no grant, so there is a financial hit to the school in year one. 

"The feedback we are getting is students are quite happy, you could walk into the study hall at 8.45am and see them reading novels, for pleasure. Some have decided to just leave their phones at home. They are talking more, engaging more, playing more sports at lunchtime.

"The feedback from parents is almost unanimously positive. They mightn't be able to get a message to their kids immediately but the benefits significantly outweigh that. I'm very pleased how it's been implemented. It's been a collective effort by the board and the staff, as are all programmes in Mountmellick Community School," Larry Curtin said.

One other Laois school has taken a similar but stepped down approach.

Coláiste Iosagáin in Portarlington with over 1100 pupils, have a wall hanging of storage pouches in every classroom, with students placing their phones into each at the start of every class, image below. Principal Justin Brown told the Leinster Express that after discussion, this cheaper option was introduced in 2023.

"We did discuss it at length with the staff and students. We thought flexibility and encouragement would be better. It is about creating good habits.