The regional government of Madrid has unveiled plans to limit the use of computers and tablets in primary schools to a maximum of two hours a week in an effort to tackle “the risks associated with the early, intensive and inappropriate use of information technology”.
Under the proposals, to be enacted in September, teachers will also be banned from setting homework involving screen use.
The measures are being billed as the first of their kind in Spain and will apply to about 500,000 children in 2,000 state schools in and around the capital.
“It’s about getting back to the essence of education but adapting it to today’s times and making books, dictations and handwriting compatible with the development of digital skills,” said a spokesperson for the conservative regional government.
The new regulations stipulate that infant and primary students “will not be allowed to work individually with digital devices, and that their teachers will not be able to set homework or other academic tasks that involve the use of tablets, computers, mobile or similar devices outside the school timetable”.
The plans, however, allow some pupils a small amount of supervised screen time each week. Babies and toddlers from birth to three years old will be banned from using screens, while infant school students aged three to six will be allowed one supervised hour of computer time a week. Pupils in years three and four of Spanish primary school will be allowed a maximum of 90 minutes a week, rising to two hours for those in years five and six. Secondary schools will be able to set their own limits, and children with special educational needs will be exempted from the new rules.
In Spain, as elsewhere, concern is growing over screen use among children and young people.
The country’s socialist-led coalition government is preparing legislation that would raise the age for opening a social media account from 14 to 16 and calls for tech companies to install age-verification systems.
It also proposes that parental controls be installed by default on smartphones and that a national education campaign be rolled out to help children and teenagers navigate social media.
Although some Spanish regions have already brought in rules on phone use in schools, the education ministry is proposing “zero use” of phones in infant and primary schools, and limiting phone use in secondary schools to teacher-led, educational activities.
