This is the fourth year the Phone Free Day challenge has been running, and this year it falls on Thursday October 6th 2022.

Hillmorton High School made the call to ban phone use a few years ago after concerns around social media use amongst school-age children and the challenges of addiction and unrealistic social expectations it can trigger. Click here for full article.

We want to extend this challenge to all schools!

“Phone Free Day is a great cause and I was happy to promote it to our students at AUT. The digital world can really consume you, and as a result you miss out on so many special things in life, such as quality time with family and friends. As the Student Wellbeing Promotion Co-ordinator, I wanted to show students how limiting the use of your phone can play a part in improving your wellbeing and free up time to do other things. I wanted students to be well and make the most of their time at AUT.”  Komal Suratwala, Student Wellbeing Promotion Co-ordinator, Auckland University of Technology

Not everyone can go completely phone free but we can all be more mindful of how we are using and interacting with these everyday devices. Two resources have been attached for your use:

1. Friends Audit flow chart is especially important for those pupils who are under 13 but already signed up with social media. This is such an influential age and they may need reminding that not everyone is who they appear on social media, so sticking with their friends is the safe way to go.
2. Kids Phone free challenges. Some simple challenges they can do throughout the day to prove that they can survive phone free.

There are more resources on our website here.

Phone Free Day is a grass root non-profit initiative started four years ago by Taino Bendz, an engineer with 10 years experience in the tech sector. He’d had enough of how adults were using their phones in front of the kids and decided to take a stand. This year, the Phone Free Day team aims to empower 10,000 people to have an amazing experience using their phones less.

We would love to see your school sign-up to show your support of this movement. There are no hidden costs and no contact details will be shared with third parties.