Aussie state to introduce school screen limits amid poor results

The NSW government will introduce daily screen time limits across public schools following poor education results.

From the beginning of term one in 2027, students will be able to use devices for up to 15 minutes in kindergarten to year 2, up to 30 minutes per day in years 3 and 4 and up to 45 minutes per day in years 5 and 6.

Students in years 7 to 10 will be allowed up to one-quarter of the time per subject on devices, while those in years 11 and 12 will get up to half the time per subject.

Under the crackdown, the state will also urge schools to use screen time limits for homework and not assign the use of devices for homework before year 5.

A minimum of one hour per day of ‘pen-and-paper’ learning is also recommended.

The rules will be recommended to public schools from 2027 before they are made mandatory from 2028. The policy will include exemptions and adjustments for students with disability, additional needs, or where English is not their first language.

Sunday’s announcement comes in response to “worrying trends” in education.

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The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment found Australian students are almost twice as likely as the global average to spend more than two hours per day using devices for learning.

Meanwhile, it found academic results are falling particularly among 12 to 15-year-olds in reading and writing.

Last week it was reported Australian year 9 students’ slide continues, recording their worst-ever results in maths and English on the world’s largest international education test.

The NSW government’s own research on screen time in schools found half of surveyed students reported being distracted by devices while only 45 per cent of secondary parents and 32 per cent of primary parents felt the benefits of using technology outweigh the disadvantages.

NSW Health chief paediatrician Dr Helen Goodwin said too much screen time can impact daily activities that support healthy growth and development.

“A healthy day for children and young people includes a mix of being active, getting enough sleep, and building active social connections with their peers and family,” she said.

Education Minister Prue Car said the government had a responsibility to ensure student health and education are not negatively affected by excessive screen use.

“An entire generation of students are increasingly living in an online world,” she said.

“Our government’s research is telling us that excessive screen use is a problem, and that parents want screens to be used intentionally. That means screens should not be the default.

“When the research is telling us teenagers are spending as much as seven hours a day on screens, and we are seeing reading and writing skills going backwards for a whole generation of children, we have to act.”

The move follows the state’s ban on mobile phones in classrooms in 2023 and restrictions on take-home assessments for HSC students over fears of AI use.