St Swithun’s School becomes a smartphone free environment in years 7-11

Published by St Swithun's School on Tuesday 17th of September 2024

As part of their ongoing commitment to place student wellbeing at the heart of what they do and in response to the increasing amount of evidence about the negative impact of smartphones on young people’s mental health, St Swithun’s School in Winchester has decided to adopt Yondr pouches in an effort to make the school more of a smartphone-free environment and to improve engagement and the mental health of students.

Although St Swithun’s has essentially been a smartphone-free environment for a long time, the school are further strengthening this by introducing Yondr pouches for all day students in year 7-11 from this term so that phones are out of reach and out of mind for the entire school day. Boarders' phones at the all-girls’ school are stored securely in their boarding houses during the school day with students only being able to access them at a specific time in the evening for them to contact family and friends. Smart phones are already banned in the Prep School. Parental feedback has been unanimously supportive to date.

The Yondr Program uses a simple, secure pouch that stores a phone. Each morning, day students switch their phone off and secure it in a personally assigned Yondr pouch in their registration. Students maintain possession of their phones and pouches and are not able to use them until their pouches are opened at the end of the school day, at unlocking stations around school. Day students bring their Yondr pouch to and from school each day and are responsible for their pouch at all times.

Commenting on the decision, Jane Gandee, Headmistress at St Swithun’s School said, “Whilst we recognise that, when used in the right way, smartphones have great utility, we also know that there is increasing evidence that smartphones are highly addictive and research that shows direct links to poor mental health and low self-esteem, especially in girls. Social media use in teens correlates with rates of anxiety and depression. We also feel strongly that time spent on smartphones is time not spent with peers interacting, exploring and developing vital social skills.”