A school near Tralee has put a ban in place on smartphones outside of school hours.
St Brendan’s National School in Blennerville has introduced a ban on students using smartphones or social media apps outside of school hours and have received full support from parents.
The school has started an 11-week pilot programme after sixth class students were found to be sending inappropriate content through apps such as Snapchat and Instagram.
The school currently embraces digital technology as a method of learning, using iPads as part of their day-to-day teaching.
However, they have now introduced an out-of-hours ban on devices, getting full support from both parents and the Board of Management.
“We are not anti iPads. You have to embrace the digital era,” Principal Terry O’Sullivan told
RTÉ.
“We use iPads here in school… but they must be monitored, they must be supervised.”
The programme is already seeing great results according to staff members who say parents are reporting that their children seem happier and are getting more active.
