1^st October 2024

Dear Families,

Firstly, I would like to thank the parents who attended the Parent Forum last night. It was a lively and constructive discussion around the topic. Parent Forum really strengthens the partnership between home and school. In addition to those in attendance, several parents sent me brief notes with their views which also helped shape the discussion. The entire discussion was underpinned by the belief that ‘mutual respect is not contingent on mutual agreement’.

In order to decide what is right for our community, we have completed the following activities:

• Parent poll
• Parent Forum x2
• Lessons with Year 5 children
• Read multiple research papers
• Engaged with the national and local discussions

It is evident that there is a strongly held view that a ban of Smartphones at St James’s will have a positive impact on our children. 

Next steps:

• The senior leadership team will finalise our policy and present it to the governing board for ratification.
• We will host information sessions, workshops and lessons for children and parents so our community is fully informed about the initiative. (Please may I request that you wait for these sessions before seeking further clarity.)
• We plan to implement our policy from January 2025.

With the above proposed school policy noted, and as you make purchasing plans for December, I strongly urge parents to consider refraining from purchasing smartphones for their children. We will support parents by rolling out our ‘no smartphone’ messaging internally. I look forward to our continued work in partnership with you, withstanding the demands of peer pressure and advocating for the preservation of ‘childhood’.

Kind regards,

Mr. C. Beatty                                                              

Headteacher