A survey on mobile phone usage will help set future policies.
Education and Public Health services have commissioned the survey to gather local views on how smartphones affect children under 16 and the school environment.
Independent researchers from the University of the West of England are conducting the study, which adapts a previous Bristol-based project for the specific needs of both Guernsey and Alderney.
The survey is being distributed to parents and carers of children in all primary and secondary schools, students in Years 7 to 11, and school staff across all government-funded and Grant Aided Colleges.
The study aims to create a baseline of data which the States says will be used to evaluate current policies, identify habits, support healthy use, and inform future decision making.
Schools are sharing the survey links directly through their usual communication channels, with those invited completing a different version of the questionnaire depending on if they’re a student, parent or staff member.
The States confirmed that all responses are anonymous to ensure participants can share their honest views.
Screen time has come under specific scrutiny in the past year, with the impact of smartphones and tablets being felt in learning environments.
Eleven months ago the former President of Education, Sport and Culture, then-Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, warned that sleep issues caused by mobile phone usage and social media, have played a part in an increase in absences being seen in some classrooms.
More recently we’ve seen the launch of the ‘Screens Away, Time to Play’ campaign, which focused on device use for babies and toddlers.
This new survey will help gauge public opinions on whether the devices are a help or a hindrance.
The Health, Personal Development and Partnerships Officer for Education, Rachel Sykes has stated that this new data will allow for a direct comparison between how students, parents, and staff view the benefits and challenges of smartphones in a learning environment.
“Schools are already working hard to balance the benefits of technology with the need to create focused learning environments without smartphone distractions.
“Having an independent research team gather data for our jurisdiction will help to inform conversations about smartphone policies in our schools.
“The results will build a picture of sentiment across the islands from those who experience daily the benefits and the challenges that smartphones bring to children, and help us to continue to ensure we have appropriate policies in our schools.”
Meanwhile Jenny Cataroche, Head of the Public Health Intelligence team, added: “Smartphones have quickly emerged as the dominant device that children use to go online and access or share digital content.
“It is important for us to have robust local evidence of how phones are used by children of different ages and how their experiences with their phones might be impacting their health.
“By listening to the experiences of students, parents and school staff, we can set a baseline of how things stand now, in 2026, to refer to in the future.
“We are delighted that all schools in the islands have agreed to be part of this survey and the more people that take part, the more reliable our data will be.”