Finnish schools adopt varied phone storage systems

Finnish schools have introduced different ways to store pupils’ phones after a law restricting their use in schools took effect, Yle reports. At Kesämäki School in Lappeenranta, phones are locked in pouches for the entire school day.

Pupils place their phones in a durable pouch, which is then put into a wall-mounted docking station that locks it. The pouch remains in the pupil’s locker or backpack during the school day.

At the end of the day, a teacher opens the docking station and unlocks the pouch. Teachers decide when the locks can be opened, so pupils cannot use their phones during breaks.

Several pupils say that not having their phones has increased face-to-face interaction. Eighth-grader Kirsikka Viinikainen says she talks more with others and has become more social.

Ninth-grader Pauli Kivistö says he spends more time outdoors during breaks. Onni Karjalainen, also in the ninth grade, says his screen time has fallen significantly because phones are not used at school.

Kesämäki’s deputy head, Kati Honkio-Saareks, says lessons have become calmer and pupils are more focused than before. She considers the noise of pupils talking in the corridors during breaks a positive change.

Remembering the phone pouch has caused some problems. If a pouch is left at home, the pupil receives a note in Wilma. Pupils must contact their parents through a teacher or after the school day.

The law left schools responsible for deciding how phones should be stored, resulting in a wide range of practices across Finland. Some schools use existing lockers, while others collect phones in a stand and place it in a cabinet that a teacher locks.

Phones are also stored in separate phone stations, in silent mode in individual locked compartments, or in pupils’ backpacks.

Laura Francke, head of a unit at the Finnish National Agency for Education, says schools have reported positive changes when phone use has also been restricted during meals and breaks. Pupils have spent more time talking with friends, playing games and taking part in other activities.