Mobile Phone & Personal Device Policy

GPS has a policy in place for phones to be off when students are on school grounds.  Our students are very familiar with the routine of handing them to the teacher and collecting them at the end of the day.  The change to our policy is in relation to smartwatches which are now included in the policy. 

Governing Council ratified our updated policy in May of this year to align with the State Government ban being implemented across all schools in Term 3. You can view our policy on the school website: https://greenwith.sa.edu.au/important-documents/ 

The information below is provided by the Education Department to share with families.  

We are implementing a mobile phone ban in line with the State Government ban. This will help us support safe and productive learning environments.

This means, from the start of term 3, students must keep their mobile phones and other personal devices (such as smartwatches) off and away at school. There will be no change to the existing arrangements for students with extenuating circumstances, such as students who use their personal devices to manage a medical condition.

The ban will help our students learn free from distractions and encourage more meaningful face-to-face time with peers.

We appreciate your support as we implement these new rules.

Find out more: http://phonesoff.sa.gov.au/ 

Resources for students and parents

The Department for Social Services’ Raising Children website contains written and video resources for parents about topics including role modelling positive behaviour with devices, supporting children’s responsible mobile phone use, cyberbullying and online safety, and balancing screen time with other important developmental activities (including physical activity, quality sleep, socialisation, and creative time):

• Children (5-8 years)
• Pre-teens (9-11 years)
• Teens (12-18 years).

The eSafety Commissioner’s website contains helpful resources and free webinars on topics including online safety basics, how to use parental controls on devices, advice about popular social media sites and apps, and managing screen time at home.