A ‘failing’ secondary school that went to war on its students’ smart phones has seen its results soar above the national average.
Staff at Cumberland Community School in Newham, East London, made headlines in 2023 when they persuaded half their students to delete social media apps from their phones over the exam season.
TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram were ditched for two months to be replaced by compulsory revision sessions – with some students agreeing to surrender their smart phones entirely to avoid any temptation or distraction.
Since repeating the pioneering effort last year, the school’s progress score has jumped by a grade and a quarter, leaving it among the most consistently improved in the UK.
And the inner-city academy now has 62 percent its of GCSE students achieving at least a Grade 5 in both English and maths – sixteen points above the average across England.
‘The social media ban was a game changer for us because all of a sudden our students were 100 percent focused on revising for their exams,’ said headteacher Ekhlas Rahman.
‘The (2023) cohort that stuck to it throughout the revision and exam period did significantly better than they were predicted. We did it again this last year and the results were similar.
Amin Opayemi and Dania Olajide were among students at Cumberland Community School in Newham, East London who ditched social media while sitting their GCSEs
Headteacher Ekhlas Rahman said the initiative was a ‘game changer’ after exam results soared (Picture: cumberlandcst.org)
‘Huge credit goes to our staff and students who have put so much effort into this sustained improvement.’
Concern about the impact of smartphones on children’s development has continued to grow since the school came up with its groundbreaking scheme.
Regulator Ofcom reported last year that 90 percent of 11-year-olds already have a smartphone, with 99 percent of children spending time online.
Although most social media platforms have a minimum age of 13, as many as six in 10 children aged between eight and 12 have their own account, the research found.
And three-in-five schoolchildren reported being contacted online in a way that made them feel uncomfortable.
The outgoing Tory government issued new guidance to schools in February, with then education secretary Gillian Keegan urging headteachers to ban the use of smartphones in schools, including during break periods.
Eton College banned all but basic ‘brick’ phones for its Year nine students during the school day in May last year.
That was followed by news that Ormiston Academies Trust, a managing group of schools with over 35,000 pupils attending across the UK, would be banning phones in the classroom due to ‘overwhelming’ relationship between excessive smartphone usage and poor mental health amongst the young.
Students were urged to hand over their phones to staff for up to two months
The inner-city school is now among the most consistently improved in the UK (Gov.uk)
And a study by think tank Policy Exchange in October found that in schools which already implement an effective ban – where smartphones are stored securely or barred from campus entirely – are shown to achieve GSCE results one to two grades higher than students in schools with more lenient smartphone policies.
But the Labour government has resisted calls for a total ban on smartphones in schools, insisting that recent legislation should be given time to take effect.
‘We all want to find the best way of ensuring children are kept safe while also benefiting from the latest digital technology,’ a spokesman told the BBC.
‘The Online Safety Act will introduce strong safeguards for children, preventing them from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content.
‘This will include requiring companies to check the age of children so that parents can have peace of mind about the safety of their children online.
‘The vast majority of schools already handle the use of mobile phones effectively, including with bans.
‘Legislating for an outright ban would simply remove the autonomy from school leaders who know their pupils and their communities best.’
Cumberland Community School is operated by the operated by the Community Schools Trust, and Mr Rahman said he was not surprised that other schools were beginning to follow his lead.
‘Five years ago this school was failing its students,’ he explained.
‘That meant they were not getting the grades to go into higher education.
‘Now we are among the top performing in the country, it means much greater opportunity for our students.’
