A crucial facility seems to be missing from the coverage of smartphones in schools – and outside (I was wrong about the danger of smartphones in schools. It’s far, far worse than I thought, 22 April). Parental controls, which both Apple and Android have, enable downtimes to be set to ensure phones don’t work in school. They can also set downtimes for outside school and block inappropriate apps.
We use these for our 14-year-old daughter to keep her safe and manage the addictive effects of phone use. Her phone automatically switches off in school time and closes down for the day at 6.30pm.
Maybe more effort should be put into supporting all parents to use available tools to manage their children’s phone use. It’s parents that provide them with phones after all.
Nick Price
Newcastle upon Tyne
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