Mobile Device Survey

At a recent Balgowlah Boys P&C meeting some parents expressed their concern about the use of mobile devices by the boys at school. To see if that concern is widespread and to help the school form a Mobile Device Policy, we’d like you to take a survey.

By mobile devices we mean mobile phones (calls/text only), smart watches, smartphones (internet access, camera), tablets (iPad or similar), and laptop computers. Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg, with the support of cyber safety expert Susan McLean and Associate Professor Amanda Third, undertook a review in 2018 for the NSW Department of Education into the non-educational use of mobile devices in NSW schools.

The review recommended five models of mobile digital device policies for schools’ consideration, with examples of schools that have implemented each model.

A summary of an explanation of the five models is in this PDF Explainer we’ve created.

More detail about the review is explained in the link below:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/strategies-and-reports/our-reports-and-reviews/mobile-devices-in-schools/review-into-the-non-educational-use-of-mobile-devices-in-nsw-schools

A recommendation of the Carr-Gregg review is to:

Provide better guidance for secondary schools, including policies that could be adopted depending on a school’s circumstances.

Acknowledging concerns about the potential negative impacts of mobile digital devices on student wellbeing, but also taking into account the important role mobile digital devices can play in young people’s education, social life and sense of identity, the review team recommends that all NSW secondary schools develop and implement a specific policy/approach to guide the use of mobile digital devices in schools. The review team recommends that secondary schools consider undertaking a consultation process with their communities to determine the most appropriate model for their circumstances.

Please take a few moments to complete our Mobile Device Survey