The Victorian government is extending the device ban in Victorian classrooms to include smartwatches and headphones.
The device ban will also apply to Catholic and independent schools, with the government saying those schools asked to be included in the policy.
Smartphones have been banned in public schools since 2020 and the government said the policy had been a success.
Education Minister Ben Carroll said an independent evaluation had found that students were more focused in class and more social during breaks and schools had reported fewer critical incidents involving phones.
“Mobile phones and digital devices have been an incredible distraction,” he said.
“All the evidence shows that getting kids focused on their teachers, not focused on what’s in their ears or on their wristbands, is the biggest lever we have to uplift results.“
Ben Carroll says the ban on smartwatches and headphones will start next year. (ABC News: Nico White)
He said the mobile phone ban had been a “game changer” in schools, but policies had to evolve to keep up with technology.
“There is a new disruptive machine in classrooms and that is smartwatches,” he said.
“Victoria led the way on having phone-free classrooms and now we’re going to have wearable device and audio device- free classrooms.
“If your watch is a smart device — that is, it can receive text messages and it’s wired to the internet — from next year it will be banned in the classroom.
“We want disruption-free classrooms and we want the single focus to be on the schoolteacher.”
Mr Carroll said research showed 60 per cent of children aged 7-12 used a smartwatch.
Smartphones have already been banned from Victorian classrooms since 2020. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson)
The extension of the devices ban has been cautiously welcomed by Parents Victoria, which supports parents of students in public schools.
But chief executive Gail McHardy said students should be involved in how such policies were introduced at schools.
“The mobile phone ban, by most reports, has reduced distraction and improved students’ connection, but we have always advocated that co-designing and student-led consultation is still critically important in those policy changes,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“If you want to have the most impact and implement effectively, especially in a school environment, it’s really important to take the students along with you on that journey.“
She said the views of parents were “mixed” on the effectiveness of the ban on devices in classrooms.
“I know many support reducing distractions, but there are still some concerns about how broad the ban goes and if it’s shifting too much responsibility onto schools instead of working in partnerships with families,” she said.
“There are still parents out there who think it’s a personal responsibility and that we all need to be lifting our game in that space.”
