{"id":1126,"date":"2026-01-20T16:24:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T16:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/?p=1126"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:24:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T16:24:45","slug":"canada-how-not-to-do-a-school-cellphone-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/it\/canada-how-not-to-do-a-school-cellphone-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada: Come NON fare un divieto di utilizzo dei cellulari a scuola?"},"content":{"rendered":"<section\n  class=\"section section-flexible-content-block\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12 reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n          <div class=\"content__centered\">\n            <p>In 2024, Canada\u2019s school phone ban expanded from Ontario (back in 2019) to cover\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/it\/canadian-provinces-announce-roll-out-cellphone-bans\/\">most provinces<\/a>. But is it working? We take a look at some of the feedback in Ontario.<\/p>\n<p>With students bleary-eyed from late-night scrolling, texting during the national anthem, snapchatting under their desks, and even ordering takeout, feedback from teachers is that engagement has plummeted and grades have been declining in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>No wonder, then, that Canada has decided to follow others in banning phones. UK schools have seen better grades, Australian schools have noted a 63% decline in critical social media incidents, and there\u2019s further feedback showing pupils are engaging more, thanks to less distraction.<\/p>\n<p>Ontario first implemented a ban for Grades 7 \u2013 12 in November 2019, which was strengthened in 2024, with other provinces doing the same. Whilst cellphones may still be the core focus, targets were firmly set on reducing social media and messaging addiction, which was also encouraging another major issue \u2013 the increasing trend of vaping.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">A CAMH study showed that 35% of Ontario\u2019s secondary school students spend 5 hours or more on electronic devices a day.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">A 2022 Statistics Canada report found that more than one-fifth of adolescents aged 15 to 17 years reporting vaping in the previous 30 days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>The updated cellphone ban rules<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ontario\u2019s cellphone restriction in 2019 wasn\u2019t a provincewide edict, which meant it was left to the respective school boards to work out how they would apply the rules. Inevitably then, years later, some schools didn\u2019t implement anything at all.<\/p>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section\n  class=\"section section-video-block section--no-padding-top section--no-padding-bottom section--alt-grey\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12\">\n                <div class=\"video-block__content\">\n          <div class=\"content\">\n            <div class=\"content__centered\">\n                            <div class=\"video-block__video_link_container\">\n                <iframe title=\"Ontario\u2019s new Minister of Education reveals details of cellphone ban in schools\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I_H5t67wmew?feature=oembed&#038;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>              <\/div>\n                          <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section\n  class=\"section section-flexible-content-block\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12 reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n          <div class=\"content__centered\">\n            <p>Ontario have updated the rules to be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">Phones banned entirely in the school day for Kindergarten to Grade 6<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">Grades 7 and above will be allowed cellphones during breaks<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">Exceptions can be made to make a call (e.g. to parents)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">Teachers are requested to follow the rules, too<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\">Social media is banned, with WiFi restrictions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The new rules set basic expectations around the action that is supposed to be taken when a student is caught with their phone, but local school boards are able to implement their own disciplinary measures for repeat offenders. In a press conference, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it was ultimately up to the school principals and teachers to enforce the rules.<\/p>\n<p>Most provinces are similar in their approach \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/it\/canadian-provinces-announce-roll-out-cellphone-bans\/\">see our other post<\/a>\u00a0for a breakdown.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How\u2019s the cellphone ban gone so far?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s been ministerial announcements, exhaustive media coverage, ad campaigns, and authoritative emails to parents to set the scene, with what looked like \u2013 at last \u2013 a full-on assault on electronic distractions after years of talk.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite this promise, the results have been somewhat mixed.<\/p>\n<p>To get off to a positive start,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/canada-school-cellphones-ban-1.7341559\">CBC News held interviews<\/a>\u00a0where students admitted less phone use did mean greater productivity, and a teacher enthusiastically told the news channel that students were \u201cvery much more engaged in lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Teacher\u2019s Unions confess that teachers are unclear on what happens if they confiscate a phone and it gets damaged or stolen in the process, or what staff should do if a student reacts aggressively to their phone being taken away, he said.<\/p>\n<p>This was backed up by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/macleans.ca\/society\/schools-vs-screens\/\">an interview between Macleans and a teacher<\/a>\u00a0wishing to remain anonymous. He shared that his school principal \u201curged teachers to be accommodating by default\u201d and, even more unhelpfully, told teachers that they would be personally liable if a confiscated phone was lost or damaged.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s therefore unsurprising to hear education experts and teachers noting inconsistencies in how cellphone bans are enforced, with some concerned for their personal safety when they take a phone away.<\/p>\n<p>Terrifyingly, a teacher\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-92-all-in-a-day\/clip\/16059769-ontario-government-tighten-rules-around-cell-phone-use\">shared her story<\/a> in a CBC News radio interview where she had her nose broken after confiscating a phone, has been threatened with death, and had been harassed by parents demanding phones back.<\/p>\n<p>So, despite the buzz of new rules that most teachers felt were long overdue, it seems at the frontlines, teachers aren\u2019t being well supported.<\/p>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section id=\"no-id-set\" class=\"section section-image\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"section-image__parallax-content\">\n      <div class=\"row\">\n        <div class=\"col-md-12\">\n          <div class=\"section-image__text reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n            <h2 class=\"text--white\"><\/h2>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"section-image__parallax-image lazyload\" style=\"background-image:inherit\" data-bg-image=\"url(&#039;https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Canada-Blog-1.jpeg&#039;)\">\n      <div class=\"section-image__mask\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section\n  class=\"section section-flexible-content-block\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12 reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n          <div class=\"content__centered\">\n            <h3><strong>Success through buy-in<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Results are clearly differing school-to-school, dramatically in some instances. So, whilst some teachers are over the moon with results, others are saying at their school the restrictions have made no difference.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, many schools need to work on engagement, and consistency. A student at Cathedral High School in Hamilton, Ontario, shared the differences there were teacher-to-teacher, with some very strict, some having a box in class for offenders\u2019 phones, and another trusting students to be mature enough to stay off their phones. All this variation, yet the school\u2019s official policy is that phones should be in lockers\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Sachin Maharaj, an assistant professor in educational leadership, policy and program evaluation at the University of Ottawa, commented,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be effective, any ban needs clear and consistent expectations, since inconsistencies and uncertainties are confusing for students. And all stakeholders need to be on board, including teachers, students, and especially parents, who are often the main source of pushback.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What separates success from failure?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Not limited to Canada, schools around the world are finding that success hinges on support from parents and making the effort to engage with students and explain the risks of cellphones, as well as the benefits of going phone-free. It then requires the teachers to be consistent in enforcing clear boundaries, with unwavering support from their principals and superintendents.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, it seems this isn\u2019t always happening. From the get-go, Ontario and other providences are mixing rules for different age groups, which makes it hard to be concise and clear with rules and consequences.<\/p>\n<p>We also have liability issues \u2013 headteachers don\u2019t want the headache of helicopter parents and expensive, broken smartphones.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve discussed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/it\/how-to-effective-phone-bans-in-schools\/\">how to have an effective cellphone phone ban<\/a>\u00a0previously, and we believe we can solve the liability issue too \u2013 the use of lockable phone pouches.<\/p>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section id=\"no-id-set\" class=\"section section-image\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"section-image__parallax-content\">\n      <div class=\"row\">\n        <div class=\"col-md-12\">\n          <div class=\"section-image__text reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n            <h2 class=\"text--white\"><\/h2>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"section-image__parallax-image lazyload\" style=\"background-image:inherit\" data-bg-image=\"url(&#039;https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Canada-Blog-3.jpeg&#039;)\">\n      <div class=\"section-image__mask\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section\n  class=\"section section-flexible-content-block\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12 reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n          <div class=\"content__centered\">\n            <h3><strong>The rise of lockable pouches<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Originating in Australia, a country that\u2019s been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/it\/australia-bans-mobile-phones-in-class\/\">ahead of the curve with phone-free schools<\/a>, Phone Locker\u00ae has a relatively low-tech solution to keep students from using their smartphones, whilst retaining possession.<\/p>\n<p>The Phone Locker\u00ae is a fabric bag that seals with a lock requiring a powerful magnet to open, an arrangement similar to that of antitheft tags that retailers affix to clothing.<\/p>\n<p>At the start of the school day, students slip their phone into the pouch and place it in their backpack or locker, and are crucially unable to cycle through Instagram, or message friends when in the classroom. At the end of the school day, they can re-open the pouch by swiping it against one of several magnetic devices positioned near school exits.<\/p>\n<p>For school that embrace digital learning, teachers can also use handheld magnetic \u2018unlockers.\u2019 There are also full signal-blocking versions of the Phone Locker\u00ae pouch, as well as an accessible velcro version that allows access for students who need their phones for medical reasons, without making them feel excluded.<\/p>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"section section-contact-us-block section--alt-color\">\n  <div class=\"container reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12\">\n        <h2 class=\"text--center\">Liberi dal telefono a scuola<\/h2>\n        <p class=\"text--center\">Per discutere dell'utilizzo delle buste Phone Locker\u00ae nella vostra scuola, in Canada o altrove, contattateci per una consulenza e un preventivo senza impegno.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"col-md-12 d-flex justify-content-center\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/it\/contact-us\/\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn--lg\">\n          Contattateci        <\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<section\n  class=\"section section-posts-panel-block reveal active section--alt-grey\"\n  data-section=\"related-articles\"\n   data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n\n            <div class=\"col-md-12\">\n        <h2 class=\"text--center\">Articoli correlati<\/h2>\n        <p class=\"text--center\">Date un'occhiata ai nostri articoli correlati qui sotto.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      \n      <!-- Section panels -->\n            <div class=\"container-slider-carousel\">\n        <ul class=\"slider-carousel slider-carousel-posts\">\n          \n          \n     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