Dear Parent/Carer


At Blackpool Aspire Academy keeping children safe is our absolute priority. The use of smart phones has been shown to have a significant detrimental impact on student’s wellbeing and academic progress.


Our existing policy is in line with the recent guidance set out by the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, on the banning of phones from school sites. It is our preference that phones are not brought into the academy at all as it has been shown nationally that mobile phones can and often do lead to several problems in school such as bullying, filming, disruption to lessons and inappropriate usage of the internet and social media leading to potential safeguarding issues.


If students do bring in a phone our Policy states:

  • Mobile phones must remain out of sight and switched off and kept in bags during school hours. This includes break and lunchtimes. Phones must not be seen or heard. On the school site, we are a no phones Academy.
  • Any student seen using their mobile phone during school hours, including break and lunchtimes, will have their phone confiscated. Should this continue to be an issue, the student in question may be asked to hand their phone in on a daily basis.
  • Confiscated phones must be taken to reception where the phone will be stored and the name of the student will be recorded. The phone will then be returned to the student at the end of the school day. Persistent breaches of this guidance will result in parents/carers being asked to come into school to collect the phone.
  • We appreciate that there are sometimes life events or situations where a student may feel they need contact with home during the day. We ask parents and carers to inform us of this as soon as possible and students will be allowed to use the school phone to speak to home.

As part of our partnership with our families, we ask the support of parents in mitigating the risks that social media can cause. Please monitor and discuss your child’s social media use on their phone. Parents should take a multipronged approach to social media management, including time limits, parental monitoring and supervision, and ongoing discussions about social media.


If you would like any advice or support, please contact the academy.


Yours sincerely

Mr D Ewart
Deputy Headteacher

Blackpool Aspire Academy