Shore School laptop policy lead to gaming, porn, gambling

Petterson said the school had decided to rent out devices with built-in controls instead – a policy still being rolled out.

“Can you imagine the impact of giving [uncontrolled] devices to students two years [your sons’] junior?” he said.

Shore was also training teachers to watch out for the misuse of digital technology. “The teachers are switched onto this in a way they haven’t been,” he said.

Many private schools charge an annual fee to hire laptops that are programmed by the school. Some program the laptops to shut down at a certain time of night and during holidays. Technology levies range from less than $300 a year to more than $700.

Public schools often opt for BYOD policies due to the varying financial capacity of parents. All school sectors use Wi-Fi settings to restrict websites, but those can be bypassed by students who have dongles, their own data, or mobile phones.

A spokeswoman for Shore said the digital device program was introduced in response to changing education and technology environments. Teachers monitored laptop use in classrooms, and IT systems blocked inappropriate materials.

Loading

“At Shore, we aim to educate students to be responsible digital natives who can navigate the online world safely, so that they can enjoy positive virtual learning, social and developmental experiences,” she said.

Andrew Mansfield, Shore’s deputy head of operations, also discussed behavioural issues in year 9, which was “typically a time when boys struggle with their identities,” he said. Three boys left last year after “we reached the point where we had to suggest to them they might need to seek an education elsewhere.”

Teachers were continuing to work with a “small but prominent minority” in that year group.

Shore had also contacted Instagram to ask it to remove inappropriate accounts, Mansfield said. He did not name the accounts, but parents have learned about one called Shore Toilets, which posts photographs of fouled bowls and cisterns.

A school spokeswoman said the overwhelming majority of boys complied with the school’s discipline standards. “If the situation arises where students cannot meet the School’s expectations or follow guidelines, disciplinary action will be taken,” she said.

Craig Petersen, the head of the Secondary Principals Council, which represents public high school principals, said the NSW Department of Education’s Wi-Fi limited sites students could access with their laptops.

“That’s not to say it’s not a problem – if there’s a dongle or a mobile phone, students can have those devices and access their own networks,” he said. “The distraction factor is critical, even if the student is accessing education material.

Petersen called on the NSW Department of Education to issue standard devices to all high school students. “If we are going to do the right thing for our students, it makes sense to provide a standard device,” he said.

“It would solve equity issues, and it would make things so much simpler for schools.”

Loading

Professor Matt Bower, an expert in school technology use at Macquarie University, said public schools could have sets of laptops in each class and “should be considering giving students devices on semi-permanent loan”.

However, he was concerned that any crackdown on mobile phone use would curtail schools’ ability to teach students how to use devices responsibly.

Psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg, who reviewed mobile phone use in schools for the NSW Department of Education, said a laptop with controls allowed access to educational material while reducing potential distractions.

“This move by Shore is, I think, really important,” he said. “The gambling, pornography issues are issues of critical importance to the wellbeing of young people. Post-pandemic, we’ve got the worst mental health scenario I’ve seen in 25 years.

“It’s a source of perpetual disappointment that the [NSW] department didn’t do what [Victorian Education Minister] James Merlino did in Victoria, which is a ban from first bell to last, including recess and lunchtime.”

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.