Year 5 Persuasive Sample: Phones Should Be Banned at School

Mobile phones have no place in classrooms. While parents may feel reassured knowing their child carries a phone, the evidence shows that phones cause significant harm to learning, attention, and social development during school hours. Schools must act now by implementing a complete ban.

Most importantly, phones destroy concentration. Research from multiple Australian schools demonstrates that students who keep phones on their desks score, on average, 20 per cent lower on attention tasks than students whose phones are stored away. Even silent notifications — a vibration, a flashing screen — are enough to break a student's focus for up to five minutes. In a 40-minute lesson, that lost time accumulates into a lost education.

Furthermore, phones damage students' ability to form genuine friendships. When students reach for a phone at lunch instead of talking to peers, they miss the social practise that builds communication skills, empathy, and resilience. These are not skills that can be downloaded. They are built in hallways, in playgrounds, and in the unscripted moments between classes.

Some people argue that students need phones for safety. However, schools already provide a safe environment and every office has a phone available for emergencies. A student in genuine danger does not need a personal device — they need a responsible adult, and schools provide those.

Therefore, the case for a phone ban is overwhelming. Governments, parents, and school leaders must work together to protect students' learning and wellbeing by removing phones from classrooms entirely. The only text that belongs in a school is the kind written with a pen.