A PACT to enable children to have a 'smartphone-free childhood' that has been signed by more than 34,000 parents is starting to gain momentum in Basingstoke and Deane. 

A total of 27 schools in Basingstoke and Deane have seen parents sign the pact to wait to give their child a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9 (age 14).

The full list of schools from which parents have signed the 'Smartphone Free Childhood' pact in Basingstoke and Deane is as follows. 

READ MORE: Every school that has banned mobile phones in Basingstoke  - listed

  • St John's CE Primary School, Basingstoke 
  • Cranbourne School, Basingstoke
  • St Mary's CE Junior School, Old Basing
  • The Priory Primary School, Tadley
  • Tadley Community Primary School, Tadley
  • Burnham Copse Primary School, Tadley
  • Hook Junior School, Hook
  • Hook Infant School, Hook
  • Preston Candover CE Primary School, Preston Candover 
  • Buryfields Infant School, Odiham
  • Mayhill Junior School, Odiham
  • Robert May's School, Odiham
  • Sherfield School, Sherfield on Loddon
  • St Mark's CE Primary School, Hatch Warren
  • Whitchurch CE Primary School, Whitchurch
  • Testbourne Community School, Whitchurch
  • Kempshott Junior School, Kempshott
  • Bramley CE Primary School, Bramley
  • Oakley CE Junior School, Oakley
  • Greenfields Junior School, Hartley Wintney 
  • Oakwood Infant School, Hartley Wintney
  • Great Binfields Primary School, Chineham
  • Four Lanes Community Junior School, Chineham 
  • St Mark's CE School, Hatch Warren
  • Winklebury Junior School, Winklebury
  • Cliddesden Primary School, Cliddesden
  • Kingsclere CE Primary School, Kingsclere

Hampshire is now the fourth leading county in the UK for the online pact and has been signed by parents from more than 262 schools, counting for 1,526 children.

The petition was put together by grassroots movement 'Smartphone Free Childhood', who hope that the petition will push for a future of schools without smartphones.

Describing themselves as an accidental movement, friends and founders Daisy and Clare set up a WhatsApp group in February to support each other in the decision to hold off on buying their kids smartphones. Within 24 hours, thousands of other parents had joined the group after an Instagram post by Daisy went viral. 

The initial group quickly maxed out at 1,000 members, so they encouraged people to set up local groups to build the conversation in their areas. Within hours, more than 60 Smartphone Free Childhood WhatsApp groups had launched across 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 three clear 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.

You can read more about the movement and follow the results of the petition here: www.SmartphoneFreeChildhood.co.uk