A mum has said her 11-year-old daughter returned home from school in tears because she did not have a smartphone to use in class. Celeste Lewis said

Girl without smartphone unable to join in lesson

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2024-10-23 15:30:16

A mum has said her 11-year-old daughter returned home from school in tears because she did not have a smartphone to use in class.

Celeste Lewis said she felt guilty after her daughter Ava's school, Whitchurch High in Cardiff, encouraged pupils to use their phones in lessons to do things like look up locations on Google Earth.

Unlike in England, there is no guidance advising schools to ban mobile phones in classrooms in Wales, with the Welsh government saying they could be "used effectively to support learning".

The school said it had an "acceptable use" policy for phones, which it regularly reviewed, but wanted children to be prepared for the future.

Ms Lewis said she began to feel "pressure" on parents to buy smartphones as her daughter left primary school, but decided not to over fears about how it might affect Ava's mental health.

She said she "naturally assumed" smartphones would not be used in class, but Ava came home crying "within the first week or two" of starting at Whitchurch High School because she did not have one to use in class.