Two years after school phone bans were implemented in Australia, what has changed?

Phone bans are now well-established in many Australian primary and secondary schools. Have they made a difference?

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When Australian Christian College, a high school in the Melbourne outer suburb of Casey, implemented a phone ban on its campus, there were multiple reasons for the crackdown. Peer conflicts between students were escalating online, students were struggling to focus and teachers observed notification-driven code-switching" in their students.

When a phone is within reach, a student's mind is only ever half in the room," the school's principal, Caleb Peterson, says. We wanted their whole attention back."