Marton & District C E Aided Primary School

There has been a lot of media coverage recently about smartphones and trying to allow our children to grow up 'smartphone free'. There is a movement called 'Smartphone Free Childhood' that was set up in 2024. They aim to empower parents to feel confident to say 'no' to smartphones for a bit longer, knowing there are other families who are also in the same position. The movement recognises that technology can be a force for good but that there is increasing pressure to give in and give a child a phone with the internet and all its content when many parents want their children to be children for longer! If you would like to find out more information, please visit this website: https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/about [smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk]. 

There is a pact that you can register with to indicate your support. By signing this Pact, you're joining a growing community of parents in Cheshire choosing to wait to give their child a smartphone until they are older.  The Pact is anonymous (they'll never share your name publicly), but the more of us who sign, the more powerful it becomes in shifting the social norm in our community. Plus, the data can be used to show the Government how much this matters to parents across the country, so that they take action to protect children from the harms of smartphones and social media. A link to the Pact is here: Sign the Pact [cheshireparentpact.smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk]. 

Please take a look at smartphonefreechildhood on Instagram for some useful information too.

We will be holding a Parent’s Surgery at school on Wednesday 12th Feb @ 2.30pm and hope you can all join us. Parent Surgery will take place in the staffroom/hall and will be finished by the end of the school day. We can discuss smartphones along with Internet Safety and are all happy to help.

Best wishes 

Claire Venables and Amy Rudgyard

Parent Governors

Nevin Deakin

Headteacher