Barnham Primary School children debate social media ban with their MP

1. Andrew Griffith MP with Barnham Primary School Year 5 and 6 discussing the proposed social media ban for children under the age of 16.

placeholder image — 1. Andrew Griffith MP with Barnham Primary School Year 5 and 6 discussing the proposed social media ban for children under the age of 16.

Arundel and South Downs MP, Andrew Griffith, visited Barnham Primary School on Friday (16th) where he had the opportunity to hear from children on the topical issue of social media for children under 16 years of age.

The MP met headteacher James Everett who has been head of the academy school for 15 years. They spoke about the challenges and successes in education and toured the school to see their teaching methods in practice. The school’s policy means that teachers are monitoring children’s access to the internet, where some lessons are taken on ipads or computers. Inappropriate content cannot be accessed, and every keystroke is recorded.

Andrew then met with children from Years 5 and 6. The students have been learning about social media safety in school and contemplating the impact a ban would impose on them and the wider community.

The Government is considering whether to follow Australia in blocking social media accounts for children under the age of 16. They have not ruled out the possibility of introducing restrictions or a ban on social media use to protect young people.

2. Andrew Griffith MP with James Everett, Barnham Primary School’s headteacher talking about the unique structure of the school.

Andrew Griffith MP previously visited Midhurst Rother College last term, learning about their mobile phone policies in which students must fully switch off their devices when they enter school grounds. The school operates a zero-tolerance policy towards any student breaking the rules. However, the challenge is how to protect children on their phones once they leave the school grounds.

Currently, with mental health issues on the rise in the younger generation a significant proportion of which can be accredited to social media and the internet.

Andrew Griffith said: “It was very interesting speaking to the pupils of Barnham Primary School on this topic, and their views matter too. I am always interested to see how the schools are tackling the issue of children bringing phones to school, but I was surprised that around two thirds of the primary school children owned a phone already.

“I support raising the minimum age for access to social media to 16 and I will vote for amendments to legislation which achieve that. I am a staunch defender of free speech and oppose bans on consenting adults on advertising, gambling and smoking. However, under-16 year olds who are treated by the law as minors and must be protected by Parliament.

“I have met Smartphone Free Childhood and applaud their work on this issue.”