As I walk through the College grounds, I am constantly reminded of the unique gift of young minds at work. Secondary school and adolescence are times of immense growth, discovery and connection. However, in our rapidly changing digital world, helping our students navigate that growth with focus and peace of mind requires thoughtful guidance from all of us.
At Sacred Heart, our guiding principle has always been to foster a supportive environment where every child feels that they belong, are valued, and have a voice. It is with this commitment in mind that I share with you an important update regarding mobile phones in schools.
At the beginning of 2026, we took a gentle but intentional step forward as a school community by introducing our Year 7 Phone Delay initiative.
We introduced this pledge to support our youngest students during a crucial transition period, encouraging families to delay smartphone ownership in favour of building real-world resilience, face-to-face friendships and healthy habits. The response from our Year 7 families was overwhelmingly positive and deeply heartening. We saw firsthand how giving our students 'room to breathe' by allowing them to disconnect from constant notifications helped ease anxiety, reduce social friction and allow genuine playground friendships to blossom.
We are most grateful to the parents who partnered with us on this initiative; it has laid a wonderfully strong foundation for what comes next.
On Wednesday 1 April 2026, then Premier Jacinta Allan and then Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll, announced new legislation to extend the ban on devices to non-government schools. This new legislation will come into effect on Thursday 28 January 2027. While our Year 7 initiative was an encouraging start, this broader legal framework provides us with an opportunity to extend these benefits to our entire student body. Once this legislation is in place, Sacred Heart will be strictly ensuring that mobile phones, along with smartwatches used for messaging and cellular accessories, are 'off and away, all day' from the moment students arrive until the final bell rings.
It can be tempting to view technology rules as restrictive, but we view this policy as an act of care. Research, alongside our own observations, consistently highlights the benefits of a phone-free school environment:
Our goal is not to isolate our young people from modern technology, but to protect the sacred time they spend learning and growing together each day.
We know that shifts like this require patience, open communication, and partnership between home and school. We want to thank you in advance for your ongoing support, your trust in our vision and your dedication to the well-being of our students.
As we move closer to this new legislation we will provide further communication about how this transition will look.
Together, let us continue to make Sacred Heart a place where our children can truly thrive with focus and connection.
