The London school that has screen-free days for pupils, teachers – and parents

Schools banning pupils from having smartphones are commonplace. But what about a school where pupils ban teachers from using their smartphones, and then get their parents to join in? And not just phones: at Holy Family Catholic primary school in west London teachers are also barred from using laptops, monitors or tablets during the school’s screen-free Mondays, after an idea that came from the pupils themselves. Yvonne Rutherford, the school’s deputy head, said the screen-free days were such a success that they had become monthly events on the school’s calendar. But she said the enthusiastic response from parents had been the biggest surprise. “We didn’t really expect parents to take part but it seems that after talking about it with their children, and reading about it in the school newsletters, they’ve wanted to be involved,” Rutherford said. Laptops, monitors and tablets are all banned at Holy Family on screen-free Mondays. Photograph: Teri Pengilley/The Guardian “After the first screen-free Monday some parents sent in photographs of the family activities they did in the evening. And that set off more so that now we get a flood of photos every month, showing what they’ve been doing instead of screen time: playing cards and reading books, going for walks and doing sport with their children. It’s been great to see.” The idea for the screen break came from Sophie Janashia, a year 6 pupil at the state school in Ealing. …