At King’s High we believe in the vital importance of connection, belonging and relationships and we know that young people thrive and flourish without the constant presence of smartphones and social media.
As a school community, we do not require any student to bring a phone to school – in fact, for students in Key Stage 3, we discourage this wherever possible.
Our priority is to support students to build meaningful relationships with their peers in person. A phone-free environment fosters a sense of community and belonging and enables our students to focus on their personal growth and development. We are committed to providing an environment that supports the holistic development of our students without the distraction of smartphones.
In 2024 we introduced lockable, signal-blocking phone pouches for all pupils in Years 7-11. The pouches are provided by the school and, each morning, form tutors supervise students locking their phones away. On their way home, students are able to tap their pouch on one of our many unlocking stations placed at exit points.
Our Sixth Form students are allowed to access their phones in the Sixth Form Centre only and they are not required to use a phone pouch as we work with our students to help them to build positive habits around managing phone use.
Students in Y7-11 are also not permitted to bring a smart watch into school.
It is important to note that students do not need to bring a phone to school – we use lockable, Yondr pouches for when parents choose to send their child to school with a phone. A growing number of students do not bring a phone to school, and we are strongly encouraging our parents of new Year 7 students to delay buying their child a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9. If parents feel their child needs a phone, we would suggest they provide a basic phone which does not allow access to the internet and social media.
