NSEAD recognises the importance of moves to protect children from the harms of mobile phone use, and the negative impact in schools. However, used with supervision, pupil's phones have become an essential tool for image capture in art and design and photography lessons, without which the discipline of digital media will be difficult to include in the curriculum. The safe use of digital technology and creation of digital works is an essential part of the curriculum, that should be developed, not removed.
Pupils are being asked to use their phones because art and design departments are not being provided with the necessary resources and equipment to teach a contemporary curriculum that prepares learners for the world of work. If mobile phones are to be removed from schools, with no exceptions, the resource gap will need to be filled with adequate funding.
Michele Gregson, general secretary and CEO of NSEAD says:
'The impact of a blanket mobile policy, that does not recognise the importance of phone cameras in art and design departments, will impact on access and equity across and between the sector. In well-funded art and design departments, there will be access to cameras and allocation of budgets for their repair and maintenance. But for those that do not have additional funding for specialist equipment, students will be disadvantaged and learning standards will fall.
'We call on the government, and in turn leadership teams, to recognise the uniqueness of our subject, the importance of learning to use digital technologies for creativity and criticality, and equitable increases in funding.'
Read more about how Ofsted will report on school mobile phone policies, and what an exception to policies might require.