Friday 17 November 2023
At Princethorpe College, and across the entire Princethorpe Foundation, one of our key aims is to help our pupils develop into Digital Citizens; young adults who can use a wide range of online digital tools creatively, constructively, safely and of course, happily.
As part of this, Friday 17 November will see our very first foundation-wide 'Digital Wellbeing Day' celebrated across all three schools. Over the day pupils will be focusing on how we can really take care of ourselves in the online world, examining and discussing key issues such as screen time, online addiction, social media peer-pressure and many more.
Pupils at Princethorpe College will be attending a session in year groups, delivered by Patrick Flynn, an expert in Digital Wellbeing and Online Safety. The sessions will be tailored for each Year group, focusing on key elements of Digital Wellbeing relevant to their age, but all with the emphasis on understanding how to navigate the online world in a safe and responsible manner, prioritising wellbeing and mental health in the digital aspects of their lives. We also intend to provide online parent sessions with Patrick later in the year, focusing on how parents can best support their children in their digital life.
Pupils will be made aware of the timings and locations for their sessions, and will be encouraged to reflect on their own digital wellbeing after the session.
We believe that one of the best ways to support young people's digital wellbeing is to ensure they have adults they can discuss this with openly, and avenues for support if they are struggling with an aspect of this. As such, we will be asking staff not to set any homework over the weekend of the 18 and 19 November, with the intention that the time can instead by used by families to actively engage with digital wellbeing, provoking discussion and conversation on this theme as a family.
Some of the activities you could do as a family include:
- Look at the Family Media Agreement, attached here, and agree together on how you will ensure digital wellbeing is prioritised
- Plan a device free period of the day for the whole family. This could be used to spend time together, maybe going on a walk, playing board games or reading
- Create a 'family charging station' in the house, where all phones can be charged overnight, keeping them out of the bedroom at night time
- Make an offline wish list. Make a list of 5 offline activities your family would like to try, and make plans to do these
You can find more information on online safety and parental controls on the Parent Toolkit section of My School Portal here, and we will also be sending home some helpful guides to digital wellbeing, along with some great tips and talking points to keep the discussions going at home!
With Year 11 and Upper Sixth mocks coming up, we would of course advise pupils in those year groups to still revise for the mock exams on the weekend of the 18 and 19 November, but this may be a good opportunity to begin the habit of revision with phones out of the room, as research shows that this can increase focus and productivity.
If you would like any further information on any of this, or would like to get involved yourself as a parent expert, please do get in touch.
Andy Compton
Assistant Head (Director of Digital Strategy)
