![\"Christopher](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793482933_704_d166559c39aab93d7e03fe1f476d98daf6d910d6.png\")
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November 1, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Trinity Grammar will next year become the first all-boys school in Sydney to introduce a strict smartphone prohibition for kindergarten to year 8 students outside of class.<\/p>\n It is the latest in a string of private schools to help parents restrict their child\u2019s access to technology amid growing fears for adolescent mental health, attention span and brain development.<\/p>\n Trinity said smartphone use damages working memory, reduces fluid reasoning and is fuelling a rising tide of youth anxiety.<\/p>\n Under the new policy, the tech will be prohibited for students below year 9 while they are on campus or participating in school activities.<\/p>\n Students will be permitted to carry a basic, non-internet-connected phone with talk and text functionalities while travelling to and from school.<\/p>\n The crackdown comes as parents are increasingly sounding the alarm about the damaging effects of social media and excessive screen use. The federal government\u2019s social media ban for under-16s could be considered a failure, with most children still using it at the same frequency<\/a> as they did before it was introduced in December.<\/p>\n The NSW government has moved to cap screen time<\/a> use in schools to as little as 15 minutes per day from next year.<\/p>\n Trinity joins other schools setting rules beyond the school day, including Frensham in the Southern Highlands, The Armidale School in northern NSW and Pymble Ladies College. Hale School in Western Australia and Eton in the UK have also moved to restrict smartphones.<\/p>\n Other schools are taking different approaches to combatting the pervasive invasion of technology into students\u2019 lives, including at St Aloysius, which has banned year 7 students from using computers between 8am and 3.10pm, except for in-class educational purposes.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cThe purpose of this change in technology use is to help year 7 manage their screen time and encourages them to utilise the plaza and Bradfield to socialise and be physically active during breaks in lessons,\u201d the email from St Aloysius staff member Mitchell Criss said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will hopefully have a positive impact on the cohort socially,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In Sydney\u2019s northwest, another independent Catholic school, Oakhill College, has also discussed the pitfalls of social media this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe devil at present is reincarnated in social media on the internet,\u201d a note from the school\u2019s Brother Pat in a June newsletter said.<\/p>\n \u201cTime for us all to examine how we use social media and counteract the devil\u2019s presence in this part of our world.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal Education Minister Jason Clare told Channel Seven\u2019s Sunrise program this week: \u201cI reckon most mums and dads know the impact that screens are having on their kids at home, turning them into little zombies, frying attention spans.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been two years since parents at Mosman school Queenwood banded together, along with the junior school headmistress Anni Sandwell, to delay buying their children smartphones, under a plan called Queenwood Unplugged<\/a>.<\/p>\n Parent Dr Rachel Holbrook said the smartphone ban has been a success in the primary school.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are only a few students who have smartphones and they hand them in when they get to school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But that success has not been replicated in the senior years. \u201cWith the senior school, it has been hard as the responsibility lies with the parents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Amy Friedlander, co-founder of Wait Mate, an organisation which helps parents connect to others who want to delay giving their child a smartphone, said most parents intuitively knew the negative consequences of children using smartphones.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019re stuck in a situation where it feels like a social norm, and for many children a smartphone is the next step in their maturity journey,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She noted Trinity\u2019s junior school had a strong cohort of parents who had made a Wait Mate commitment while the role of schools was changing.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of years ago, schools were unsure about their role, they saw smartphones as a parent decision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But she noted numerous issues schools were dealing with\u2014spanning bullying to student mental health and reduced sleep and attention\u2014could be tracked back to smartphones.<\/p>\n \u201cSchools are dealing with these headaches,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just that smartphones can potentially be harmful with the content they expose kids to and their addictive design, it is that they take up a lot of space and present a significant opportunity cost to other experiences,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It is more than two years since Pymble Ladies College introduced its \u201cWise Phone\u201d initiative,<\/a> which issued students with a phone with limited functionality depending on the student\u2019s age.<\/p>\n Principal Dr Kate Hadwen said students on the program reporting better quality sleep, wasting less time on screens and spending more time with family and friends.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have evolved the program by making it possible for students to have the Wise Phone system on any device they choose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said it worked best when \u201cparents hold the line\u201d and commit to the program.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we think that speaks to a bigger point,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are going to make a real change in what our children access online, we need parents, schools, tech companies and governments all working together and playing their part.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Trinity](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c7a9e20601611df4facbe25b1318510743bca447.jpeg\")
Trinity students Alessia Calautti and Henry Kljajic. Students will be permitted to carry a basic, non-internet-connected phone with talk and text functionalities while travelling to and from school.George Chan<\/p>\n![\"xxx\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e3898bab2aa87c4f9bc4a294ef979b276f9fa1a3.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4c8eb5870edfccb0de4772dd8eeb976284aa0b3a.jpeg\")
The head of the Queenwood junior school, Anni Sandwell (yellow jacket), with parents, including Dr Rachel Holbrook (second from right) and students at the launch of Queenwood Unplugged last year.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n![\"Pymble](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/57506b9635a8b98b3bfafebf1c8382e9e687277f.jpeg\")
Pymble Ladies College principal Dr Kate Hadwen says they\u2019ve made some tweaks but their phone policy has been broadly beneficial.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n