Ilim College currently requires students to have their own personal devices from Grade 5 — meaning children as young as 9 and 10 have  access to a laptop/internet at home and at school.

While technology can support learning, many parents are raising serious concerns about the impact these devices are having on their children. We believe the risks outweigh the benefits, and it's time for the school to take action.

Here's what parents are experiencing at home:

• No real limits on what kids can access: With the internet at their fingertips, students can — and do — stumble across inappropriate content, with little standing in the way.
• Parental controls don't work:The school-issued devices make it easy for tech-savvy kids to bypass parental controls, leaving parents with little ability to monitor or restrict what their child sees online.
• Homework becomes a distraction trap: Children sit down to do homework but end up chatting with friends, scrolling through content, or getting pulled into apps and games. Homework doesn't get done, and parents often don't find out until it's too late.
• Unrestricted downloads: Students can download apps, games, and other content freely, turning a learning tool into an entertainment device.
• Parents should not have to manage a school-issued device at home: Monitoring downloads, checking online activity, and managing screen time is not a responsibility that should fall on families; it is a direct consequence of a policy that sends these devices home in the first place.

Beyond the home, the research is overwhelming, and it hits close to home. A large-scale Australian study conducted by Australian Catholic University tracked 4,013 Australian children aged 10–11 over four years and found that more screen time was consistently linked to worse outcomes across health, wellbeing, and school achievement⁶. This study was backed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Australian government guidelines recommend no more than two hours of screen time per day for children aged 5–12 — yet research shows the majority of Australian families report their children already exceed this limit⁷. Giving children a school-issued device to take home makes this problem significantly worse.

Internationally, the evidence is just as clear. Researchers from Princeton University and UCLA found that students who used pen and paper significantly outperformed those who used laptops in comprehension and retention¹. A randomised controlled trial at West Point, published by MIT, confirmed that allowing laptops in the classroom — even with restrictions — reduced students' final exam scores². A study of 200 primary school students aged 6–12 found a moderate negative correlation between daily screen time and attention span³. Research from the UK found that when schools removed devices, academic performance improved⁴. A 2016 study also found that laptops are more detrimental to boys than girls, as impulse control tends to develop later in males⁵.

Traditional learning i.e. textbooks, handwriting, and face-to-face discussion builds not just knowledge, but focus, discipline, and real interpersonal skills that children need as they grow.

We are calling on Ilim College to:

✅ Remove personal laptops from general classroom use

✅ Limit device use to Digital Technology classes only

✅ Return to traditional learning — textbooks, pen and paper, and face-to-face teaching.

We call on the Ilim College administration to urgently review its device policy, introduce meaningful restrictions, and ensure that learning, not screen time, remains the priority.

Sign this petition to stand up for our children's education, wellbeing, and safety.

Sources & Further Reading

¹ Princeton & UCLA — Handwriting vs. Laptop Note-Taking: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/want-ace-your-tests-take-notes-hand

² West Point / MIT — Banning Laptops Improves Exam Performance: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/05/13/allowing-devices-classroom-hurts-academic-performance-study-finds

³ Screen Time & Attention Span in Children Aged 6–12: https://theaspd.com/index.php/ijes/article/download/4986/3636/10072

⁴ UK Study — Device Bans and Academic Performance: https://www.childrenandscreens.org/learn-explore/research/attention-media-use-and-children/

⁵ Laptops & Gender — Impact on Male Students: https://washingtonian.com/2025/03/25/schools-are-banning-phones-what-about-laptops/

⁶ Australian Catholic University — Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (4,013 children, aged 10–11): https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0881-7

⁷ Australian Screen Time Guidelines & Family Research: https://www.buildingbrains.net/latest-australian-research

Australian school adopting a no device policy: https://youtu.be/QdW_9C7WfjI?si=1mZG8_YV9xSaUcJF