Community and connection: our mobile phone policy

Teddies champions building strong connections across the school community through shared experiences – in the classroom, on the playing fields, on the river, in the arts studios, and in the boarding houses. We prioritise wellbeing for our pupils, and we take a clear approach to mobile phone access to support their health and happiness.

We recently updated our mobile phone policy to reflect the latest research findings, and to build on a clear set of principles which we introduced in 2022. Over the last two years, we have already seen positive benefits for pupils and the School, as well as a reduction in online disciplinary issues. More pupils are involved in more activities, achieving personal and shared goals, from completing their St Edward’s Award to running a society together.

Through these shared experiences, pupils build friendships and have fun together, and contribute to and create our school community.

To support this ethos, the school week is entirely mobile-free for the Shell (Year 9) and Fourth Form (Year 10), with time-limited access on a few evenings for the Fifth Form (Year 11). At weekends, these year groups have access to their mobile phones during the daytime. Families can keep in regular contact throughout the week via Zoom and WhatsApp (on the school-issued Surface Pro laptops), and via a boarding house mobile phone and landline. Pupils can be in touch with each other through the school email system.

In the Sixth Form, all pupils have access to their mobile phones during the school day – the Lower Sixth from after morning lessons, and the Upper Sixth from after breakfast – before handing them in at 10pm each evening. On weekends they have more access to their mobile phones before handing them in on Sunday evenings ahead of the start of the school week. Sixth Formers can also contact each other via Teams throughout the week.

At Teddies, we strike a balance between protecting and guiding adolescents in our care. Our year-group courses in Digital Wellbeing and Digital Citizenship, informed by the latest research and run by the Director of Wellbeing, are complemented by the progression year by year to further access and personal responsibility for online activity.

Our intention is to help pupils discover how to build healthy relationships and nurture their wellbeing and a sense of community, both in the school and online. We are achieving a more engaged and connected community at Teddies with less mobile phone usage, and we thank our parents and guardians for their support of our approach.

Click here to read our Mobile Phone Policy in full