WHY SMART PHONE FREE?
A series of conversations with parents and professionals over the last few years have led us to this point. Collectively, our community has seen an increase in the number of concerning behaviour and safeguarding incidents related to primary age children passively using technology and having access to smart devices and social media apps. Parents tell us that they’d like to hold off giving their child a smartphone but, because everybody is doing it, it really is difficult to say no.
Simultaneously, we have seen a growing increase in local, national and international research around the dangers of children engaging with smartphones too young. Some of the statistics are, frankly, quite frightening. As well as this, we feel it is time to address some of the false-information leading to parents feeling a need to get their child a smartphone.
RESOURCES
Navigating the online world with young children throws up a whole host of new conversations and challenges for parents.
This page is here to provide you with a range of different resources and signposts to help you in your own learning about keeping your child safe online.
Letter to parents November 2025
The team at PAPAYA strive to help families thrive in the digital age
Learn more about Smartphone Free Childhood
Online Safety Guide for Parents
Recently Bourneside School hosted an event with guest speakers from PAPAYA the messages were powerful – check out the slides and read through the statistics here.