A Childhood Without Phones:
Our ‘no personal smart device’ policy
What does the very best childhood look like?
Wonder. Physicality. Presence. Real relationships. Children laughing together and talking face to face. Reading real books. Mud under fingernails and fresh air in lungs. Tasting and seeing that God made the world good.
Ask almost any parent what they want for their child and you will hear something like this this. But we all know that technology is making this version of childhood increasingly difficult.
Technology is a powerful tool in the hands of adults who are wise. Our pupils will learn to use technology well, at the right stage. But placing technology in children's hands too soon steals the joys of childhood before they have realised what they are missing.
A screen in the middle of a family can be a wonderful thing — a film on a Saturday, a favourite programme on while Dad works at the table, and the two of them laughing at the same joke from opposite ends of the room. What we are protecting children from is a screen in their pocket, following them wherever they go, used and watched where no parent can see it, all the while distracting them from life in all its fullness.
At The Fountain, every family makes the same commitment:
through the primary years, pupils do not have their own personal smartphone, tablet or other app-based device, at school or at home.
Why ask this of every family?
When your child is the only one in the class without a phone, the whole weight falls on you, and your child feels left out. In contrast, when you belong to a school where every family has made the same commitment, nobody is the odd one out. As a new school, we have the opportunity to set this culture from the start.
When we share this in parent interviews, the response is always the same. Relief, excitement, and then: it will be so much easier at home knowing everyone else has done the same.
We know that circumstances vary, so if you are ever considering a personal device for your child, it starts with a conversation with the Headmaster rather than with a rule.
A community walking together, in a different direction, towards the most joyful childhood we can give our children. How exciting!