Rosses Community School in Dungloe has officially declared it is now a ‘phone free zone’.
The move is set to raise a few eyebrows in a week that saw huge controversy over the Budget allocation of €9 million for mobile phone pouches in secondary schools.
But, the Dungloe institution was well ahead of the posse.
“We are delighted with how well it has gone so far,” a spokesperson for the school said in a post on their social media channels.
“It has been a joy to see everyone interacting more and students and staff chatting and enjoying each other’s company.
“We would like to say a big thank you to our parents, who have wholeheartedly supported our initiative, and to our students and staff who have embraced this change.”
Management reminded parents that if they need to contact their child during school hours, they simply make an old-fashioned telephone call and their office staff will be happy to help.
Is not known if the school will take a slice of the €9 million allocation in order to fund their initiative. We have contacted the school for a comment.
The ‘Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free’ proposal was included in Budget 2025, which was announced earlier this week.
The idea behind the storage initiative is that once the phone is in the pouch at the start of the school day, it cannot be accessed and then it is opened later in the day, in a way which is controlled by the school.
Education Minister Norma Foley has described it as a positive, proactive step that would allow secondary school students to have a mental break from their phones and allow them to learn without distraction.
However, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has called on the government to ‘stop the waste’ of the millions set aside for the phone pouch plan.
Deputy Doherty, who is the Sinn Féin spokesperson on finance, says the government has a chance to see sense and put the money into school facilities.
“Spending €9 million on phone pouches is grotesque,” he told the Dáil.
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