Deputy Paul Montague, another forceful character in Guernsey’s education revolution, remains in close contact with secondary school heads. First, he wants to evaluate and improve their smartphone policies. He strongly believes that schools need to take responsibility for effective management of smartphone use. His recent speeches have mirrored this crucial focus, as the issue has attracted a lot of well-deserved attention.
Montague moved into his new position in June, and was the highest-polling new candidate in the Guernsey general election. Having worked as a former educator with over 30 years of experience in the education field, he knows the issues well. It was against this background that over the weekend, he made a direct approach to Jersey’s Minister for Education. Both jurisdictions are learning more about the same challenges associated with integrating smartphones into schools.
As Montague made clear in his conversations with senior leaders and stakeholders, smartphone technology has transformed daily life in a way that is here to stay. He stated, “I’ve been in touch over the weekend with the minister for Education over in Jersey who like me, was the National Education Union rep.” This partnership works to facilitate knowledge exchange and connection between advocates working on effective smartphone policies.
Montague noted that the current policy framework for smartphone use in Guernsey schools generally requires that devices be “off and away” during school hours. He said he wanted tougher measures, especially in primary schools. “I think in primary schools we probably need to go further than that and be far more robust,” he commented. He should be prepared to move quickly on these findings. In the meantime, he’ll be pushing to collect more evidence and feedback from different segments of the educational landscape.
Guernsey’s experience is the same as Jersey’s, and it’s here that Montague plans to explain how these issues were resolved in other places. “We’re going to be discussing how Jersey have dealt with it, as they have a similar situation to us,” he remarked. We hope this dialogue will shed useful perspectives that foster innovative policies in the future.
Montague shared a surprising piece of information! One school in the Channel Island of Guernsey permits students to use phones for certain tasks, such as paying at the cafeteria—but only after obtaining permission. “At the moment at least one of our schools, students are allowed, with permission, to take their phones out to pay at the cafeteria,” he explained.
As Montague considers what new initiatives to adopt on smartphone use, he has made clear his desire to focus on evidence-based approaches. He further declared that any new policies should be “evidence based and pragmatic,” with the intention to prevent self-defeating results. His proactive stance reflects a commitment to fostering an educational environment that balances technological integration with effective learning practices.
