Responding to the Mobile Phone Ban in Primary Schools: Wall Mountable Mobile Phone Lockers Make it Easy

The recent mobile phone ban legislation came down finally, and as of January 2019, primary school students will no longer be allowed to have mobile phones. The ban is not just during class time, but throughout the school day which includes breaks as well. This move has left education administrators and teachers scratching their head to find a solution quickly, and being just before the Christmas break there is precious little time to do it. 

Luckily, Statewide is ready for this. The introduction of the mini mobile phone locker occurred earlier in 2018 and has been a huge success. There have been calls for site visits which we have happily obliged, to take away the stress of choosing new lockers for your school. Before we get into that though, why do you even want to buy mobile phone lockers for your students?

Can’t Schools Just Tell Students to Keep the Phones at Home?

If experience tells us one thing, it’s that children are innovated, clever and sometimes downright sneaky. If you tell students to keep their phone at home, some will acquiesce, but more likely they will turn their phone on silent and become better at hiding their use.

Furthermore, there are legitimate concerns over student safety before and after school. It is conceivable that there would be community blowback, if students were denied the ability to call a parent or guardian if they felt unsafe or threatened while walking home from school.

So, telling students just to “leave phones at home” is not likely to be a tenable solution.

Our school already has student lockers. Why would we need mobile phone lockers as well?

Many schools will already utilise student lockers which are there for extra books, lunch, bags and other personal items of the students. However, the nature of these lockers means they are accessed throughout the day. The new legislation as reported by the ABC on Friday, requires that the phones are unavailable all day. Using existing lockers will not be compliant as students will simply check their phones whilst on break.

What Mobile Phone Lockers are There?

Statewide manufactures a wall mountable, steel mobile phone storage locker. It’s small form factor is specifically designed for mobile devices. The dimensions of a single unit which has 4 compartments, is 400mmH x 200mmW x 200mmD. A 2m long wall with only 1 row will fit 40 compartments. Stacking these three high gives 160 compartments which puts any school well on the way to furnishing its students with mobile phone lockers.

We have two recommendations as to the type of locker you should consider.

Mobile Phone Lockers with Provision for Padlock

The first option to consider is provision for padlock. While there is a key lock available, it does not seem appropriate to burden the school with the ongoing costs of key replacements. Having said that, a bolt cutter will need to be kept on site for the inevitable lockout.

Mobile Phone Lockers with Keyless Combination Locking

The Keyless Combination Lock is the superior option for student lockers. It is supplied with an override key for emergencies, for the administrators. Students will not have any keys to manage. While the up front costs are greater, the ongoing costs are reduced to effectively zero.

Statewide’s lockers are all Australian made, feature a lifetime warranty and can be powder coated in the colour of your choice. Call today with your enquiry. If you’re located in Sydney we can organise a site visit if required, or we can just provide you with guidance and information in your quest to find mobile phone lockers.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, the Statewide Team.