At St Nicholas, we are committed to giving the children the very best start in life, where they learn to build on solid foundations. That’s why we’re supporting a growing grassroots movement called Smartphone Free Childhood. We’ve all been put in an impossible position, including families, schools – and children themselves – when it comes to smartphones. The pressure to hand one over seems to come earlier and earlier, but the truth is, so many of us feel uneasy about it. We want to let you know: if you’ve ever felt that tug in your gut – the “is this too soon?” feeling – you’re not alone. You’re in good company.

It’s not a top-down campaign. It’s a bottom-up one, driven by families, carers, teachers, and children– all trying to figure this out together. It’s about creating healthier childhoods, and giving kids the chance to learn, grow and thrive, free from the pull of addictive algorithms and 24/7 internet in their pockets.

We are very fortunate that we do not currently have a wave of phones coming into school, and this puts us in a strong position. Our motivation for joining this initiative is to show our solidarity with you as families and to start building healthy habits now—before our children reach secondary school, where the pressures surrounding smartphones can become much greater.

As a school, we are thinking carefully about how this will look in practice and how we can support our whole community in making positive, confident choices. We will be sharing more information with you very soon.

You may have seen the recent news that Australia has taken a bold step by banning social media access for children under 16. This landmark decision highlights a serious commitment to protecting young people from the growing risks of the online world. Many believe it’s time for our own government to show the same level of leadership. Stronger protections for children online shouldn’t be optional—they should be a national priority.

If you want to add your voice to the growing call for action, you can support this effort by signing and sharing the petition below:

Ban Social Media for Under-16s to Protect Children