A pact to enable children to have a ‘smartphone-free childhood’ which has been signed by more than 34,000 parents is gaining momentum in East Lancashire.

A total of 101 schools in Lancashire have seen parents sign the pact, pledging to wait until the end of year 9, age 14, to give their child a smartphone.

This includes Pendle Primary School, Clitheroe, having the highest number of signatures – currently 26.

The petition was put together by the grassroots movement ‘Smartphone Free Childhood’, which aims to remove smartphones from schools to reduce the damaging impact they have on children's learning, behaviour and mental health.

In February, friends Daisy and Clare set up a WhatsApp group to support each other in the decision to hold off on buying their children smartphones.

Within 24 hours, thousands of other parents had joined the group after Daisy’s post went viral.

Initially, the group quickly maxed out the 1,000-member limit, so they encouraged people to set up local groups to build conversations in the area.

Within hours more than 60 Smartphone Free Childhood WhatsApp groups had launched the length and breadth of Britain, kicking off a national conversation about the harms of smartphones for children.

The national pact currently sits at 34,780 parents from 6,357 schools, with the number one spot held by Hertfordshire, followed by Surrey, South West London and then Hampshire in fourth.

Smartphone Free Childhood states: "We’re on mission to change the cultural norm that children are given smartphones, and challenge Big Tech’s ever-increasing colonisation of childhood."

It has three goals: 

  1. Growing the national conversation about the harms of smartphones for children.
  2. Empowering parents and schools to take collective action and create change at a local level.
  3. Putting pressure on government and tech companies to help us protect our children.

The full list of East Lancs schools which have parents have signed the ‘Smartphone Free Childhood’ pact is as follows, with the number of parents signed up:

  • Pendle Primary School, Clitheroe - 26
  • Hippings Methodist VC Primary School, Oswaldtwistle – 20
  • Whalley CE Primary School, Whalley – 8
  • Alston Lane RC Primary School, Longridge – 4
  • Haslingden Primary School, Haslingden – 4
  • St Mary’s RC Primary School, Langho – 3
  • Briercliffe Primary School, Briercliffe – 2
  • Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School, Rawtenstall – 2
  • St James CE Primary School, Clitheroe – 2
  • St Mary’s RC Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors – 2
  • St Mary’s and St John’s RC Primary School, Clitheroe – 2
  • Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, Waterfoot – 1
  • Haslingden St James CE Primary School, Haslingden – 1
  • Moor End Primary School, Oswaldtwistle – 1
  • Mount Carmel RC High School, Accrington – 1
  • Park High School, Colne – 1
  • Park Primary School, Colne – 1
  • Sharneyford Primary School, Bacup – 1
  • St Bartholomew’s Parish CE Primary School, Great Harwood – 1
  • Westholme School, Blackburn - 1