Mobile phones in class will soon be a thing of the past.

Mobile phones in class will soon be a thing of the past.

No more mobile phones in the classroom from January 1, 2024. Schools must soon set rules for mobile phones in the classroom. The starting point is no phones in class, unless there is a good reason. This also applies to tablets and smartwatches. Director Ouders & Onderwijs Lobke Vlaming is happy with this ban on mobile phones. In April, she joined a round table about mobile phones in the classroom in the House of Representatives. There she advocated a no unless approach.

Support for parents

Mobile phones in the classroom are a distraction and cause pupils to perform worse. That is why they will no longer be allowed from next year. Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (OCW) agreed this with the VO-raad, Sectorraad GO, AOb, CNV-onderwijs, FvOV, Ouders & Onderwijs, LAKS, and LBVSO. The upcoming ban on mobile phones is support for parents, says director Ouders & Onderwijs Lobke Vlaming. “It is hard for parents to do this alone, to say: you are not allowed to, even if your friends can. We are happy with the collective agreements.”

A good step towards a ban in the whole school

Pupils who rely on their phone, for example for medical reasons or because of a disability, can still use them. For Special education there will also be adjusted agreements. Vlaming would have liked the rules to go further, with guidelines not only for the classroom but for the whole building. “Then pupils also know what they can and cannot do during breaks. But overall, this decision is a good step. Children get very distracted by mobile phones. Their learning results decrease and they find it harder to focus. This ban on mobile phones improves the calm.”

Rules at school

In the coming time the involved organizations will work out the agreement further. After the summer holidays, teachers, pupils, and their parents can discuss how this will look at their school so they have it arranged by January 1, 2024.