Dear Parent/Guardian,
The Parents’ Association, in conjunction with the school are pleased to launch the Scoil Cholmcille Smartphone & Social Media Voluntary Code. This is a no smartphone & no social media policy whereby parents collectively agree to not provide their children with access to smartphones or social media while in primary school.
The internet and social media are becoming a bigger part of our children’s lives, mostly for the better, however they pose risks and dangers too. Our children are very often not emotionally ready to navigate the complexities of digital devices and the digital world. Research also shows that devices and social media are having a a detrimental impact on children’s ability to learn, focus and retain information.
This voluntary code is born out of a need for we as parents/guardians and teachers to do everything we can to protect our children for as long as possible and set them up for success as they head into their teenage years.
Collective agreement on delaying the introduction of smartphones & social media access during the primary school years should also we expect reduce peer pressure amongst our children and thereby act as a tool to support parents/guardians when having conversations with their children about access to smartphones & social media.
This is a voluntary code - Scoil Cholmcille Parents Association, Principal and school staff respect each family’s right to decide whether or not their children have access to a smartphone or social media. All data collected (e.g. families who do/do not participate) remains anonymous and will only be shared on an aggregated class by class basis.
A huge thank you to the Parents Association for their tireless work since last September planning, surveying and bringing this important initiative to fruition. You can also sign up anonymously by clicking here. The code itself, including the sign up link, can be viewed in the policies and forms section of this website by clicking HERE.
We would encourage all families to sign up to this code as we believe it will have a hugely positive effect on our children’s lives both in and out of school.
