Banning mobile phones at school has almost universal support from principals and the backing of parents, but more restrictions are coming for children using technology during the other 18 hours of the day.
A NSW Education Department survey of almost 1000 public school principals found 95 per cent supported the mobile phone ban Labor promised before winning the March 2023 election.
Riverstone High School principal Rosemary Daubney began the role about a year before it was introduced in the final term of 2023.
"The difference has been absolutely amazing," she told reporters on Monday.
"The social interaction that we're seeing between students has been phenomenal."
The ban was only in force a few days when Ms Daubney heard evidence of its efficacy.
"I had to look out of my office window ... wondering what that noise was, because the kids were actually talking to each other," she said.
States and territories committed to banning, restricting or managing student mobile phone use at a national meeting in 2023, when many already had plans in place.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said policies had proven effective across the nation but more needed to be done outside the classroom.
"We are seeing the difference ... but once school ends, phone screens suck children back into the cesspit of social media and acts like poison for their physical and mental health," he told AAP on Monday.
Federal legislation will be introduced to set a minimum age for social media access before parliament ends in November.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said the mobile phone ban was making a big difference.
"Our children are paying attention more, they're learning more and they're socialising with one another," she said.
Cutting down on distractions is also making the job easier for teachers, as the government refocuses their workload and continues hiring more to reduce vacancies.
"This is as much about supporting our expert teachers as it is ensuring that our children get a wonderful education," Ms Car said.
The ban applies to public schools in NSW, where attendance has fallen in recent years as more parents opt for private schooling.
The survey also found 81 per cent of principals agreed students' learning had improved, 87 per cent said students were less distracted in the classroom and 86 per cent said socialising had improved.
NSW Premier Chris Minns pointed to a joint summit with the South Australian government on social media earlier in October and supported federal efforts to restrict social media access by age.
"This is a global, unregulated experiment on the next generation without many limits being put in place," Mr Minns said.
Ms Daubney said parents were even more supportive of a mobile phone ban after it became a government edict, and students were accepting it had some merit.
"The policy that's been implemented statewide has allowed us to have the backing of the parents, which has made it a lot easier for us to implement,"she said.
"A lot of our students actually acknowledge the fact that they're able to engage with their learning to a greater extent."
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