Behaviour, Wellbeing & Safeguarding
Smart Watches at School: Staying Safe & Staying Focused
Smart watches are becoming a popular tool for families to help children stay safe and connected when walking, riding, or catching the bus to and from school. We understand and appreciate that many parents use these devices to check in with their children, track their location, and ensure peace of mind during travel times. These features can be incredibly helpful and reassuring.
However, while smart watches serve a valuable purpose outside of school hours, it’s important to clarify their role during the school day.
Smart Watches During School Hours
Students may wear smart watches during school, but they must be set to School Mode (also known as Schooltime, depending on the brand). This mode disables distracting features such as messaging, games, and app notifications, while still allowing essential safety functions like emergency calls and location tracking.
School Mode helps students stay focused on their learning, engage meaningfully with peers, and respect the privacy and safety of others. It’s similar to a “Do Not Disturb” setting and is available on many popular smartwatches.
Why This Matters
We want to ensure that all students:
- Stay focused on their learning
- Engage positively with peers
- Avoid distractions and disruptions in class
- Use technology responsibly
Smart watches, while useful, can sometimes lead to unintended issues such as:
- Disruption of lessons due to notifications or messages
- Unsupervised communication during school hours
- Inappropriate use of camera or recording features
- Increased social pressure or exclusion
By setting clear boundaries, we help students develop healthy habits around technology use and maintain a safe, inclusive school environment.
What Families Can Do
We encourage families to:
Talk with your child about the appropriate use of smart watches
Ensure School Mode is activated during school hours
Reinforce that watches are for before and after school safety—not for use during the day
Reach out to the school if you have any concerns or questions
If your child is unsure about what’s expected or needs support with managing their device, they are welcome to speak with me, and I can help guide them through the process and answer any questions.
Courage and Codes
Parents and Carers
We are excited to invite you to a special event: ‘Courage and Codes’ – a night designed especially for boys in Years 4–6 and their dads or carers. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
Evening Session – Courage and Codes
Who: Year 4, 5 & 6 boys and their dads/carers
When: Wednesday, 3 September at 7:00pm
Where: Community Centre
Duration: Approximately 75 minutes
We encourage all dads and carers to attend with their sons – it promises to be a meaningful and engaging evening.
As a school, we are committed to supporting the emotional and social development of both our boys and girls. This year, both ‘Courage and Codes’ and 'Courage and Crowns' program will be delivered in-class for all students (Years 4–6), with separate sessions for boys and girls:
Classroom Sessions – Courage and Codes & Courage and Crowns
Monday, 1 September
Year 5: 12:30–1:30pm (separate sessions for boys and girls)
Year 6: 2:20–3:20pm (separate sessions for boys and girls)
Wednesday, 3 September
Year 4: 12:30–1:30pm (separate sessions for boys and girls)
While the night session is only for boys and their dads/carers this year, both boys and girls will participate in the full program during school hours.
Regards,
Luke Freeman
Behaviour, Wellbeing and Safeguarding Leader