Hardline French schools BAN mobile phones and iPads from class in bid to stop pupils being distracted
New law removes distracting internet-connected devices from pupils’ hands while they are at school.
KIDS in France are now banned from using their smartphones in school in a bid to stop them being distracted or messing about in lessons.
French lawmakers yesterday passed the law forbidding schoolchildren from going on their devices during breaks, in corridors, playgrounds or at lunchtime.
The ban also applies to tablets, smartwatches and other connected devices, which must be turned off or left at home.
The new rules affect pupils aged from three to 15 years old.
But high schools will be allowed to decide whether to apply a partial or blanket ban.
Exception to the rule include whether it is necessary for a lesson or school trip, homework or where needed by disabled pupils.
MOST READ IN NEWS
French President Emmanuel Macron had vowed during his campaign to rid schools of distracting smartphones which are also used by some youngsters to disrupt lessons and bully other children.
The new law passed with the support of lawmakers from his Republic on the Move (LREM) party and liberal allies, while lawmakers on the left and right abstained, calling the law a gimmick.
The law was introduced during the summer holidays and French kids have until the new term in September to cold turkey from their phones.
education expert Tom Bennett, the UK's former behaviour tsar, says British pupils could benefit from a similar hard-line approach.
The former teacher, who was appointed by the Government in 2015 to examine behaviour in schools in England, told the Sun: ";I absolutely support the idea.
"As adults we need to be providing a learning experience of maximum potential and that means focusing on the work as much as possible."
A Sun study earlier this year found a third of parents had no idea what their kids were looking at.
Many mums and dads confessed their children had developed such an intense addiction to smartphones that they would become VIOLENT if devices were taken from them.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.