In accordance with the school's safeguarding responsibilities and Online Safety Policy, it is not necessary for any children at Itchen Abbas Primary School to own a mobile phone of any kind. From September 2025, Itchen Abbas Primary School will be smartphone-free.

However, if your child is in the older year groups, they might be getting ready for travelling independently to and from secondary school, and you may soon wish for them to have a mobile phone for communication purposes.

The Smartphone Free Childhood organisation (www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk) have highlighted the harmful effects of children and teenagers using smartphones, and recommend delaying smartphone use until at least 16 years old.  Therefore, they provide the following helpful information for those parents choosing to get their child a simple non-smartphone that does not have internet or social media access, and can be used for calling and texting only.

A couple of the simple non-internet mobile phones that can be used for calls and text only that the SFC website suggests are as follows:

Nokia 105 or Nokia 106. Approx £20-£25. Available from Argos, Amazon online, and Cell Repair on Winchester High Street.

Nokia 2660 flip, Approx £60 - £65. Available from Amazon and Argos online.

These phones can be purchased SIM card free, so you'll also need to purchase a SIM-only card and plan for the phone. 

Some options are:

Text / talk SIM card plan (no data required) from ASDA Mobile for £4 a month, which provides unlimited calls and texts. Purchase this SIM card option via this link.

You may also be able to get SIM cards from your internet provider, for example EE, at a special monthly rate. Just choose the SIM-only option with the lowest amount of data (as these internet-free phones won't need any data) and unlimited texts / calls (which they seem to all have as standard). 

Vodafone also offer a £10 per month SIM with unlimited texts and calls.

Because childhood is too short to spend on a smartphone!

A reminder that as part of our safeguarding responsibilities, the following procedures regarding mobile phones are in place:

• As a general rule, children should not bring mobile phones into school.
• If you believe your child has a valid reason to bring a mobile phone into school, you will need to write to the headteacher requesting permission.