NSW moves to cap classroom screen time, with 15-minute limit for youngest students
The New South Wales Government is moving to significantly reduce the amount of time students spend using individual digital devices in public school classrooms, including a proposed limit of just 15 minutes a day for students from Kindergarten to Year 2.
Under the new guidelines:
Preschool: no individual device use
Kindergarten–Year 2: up to 15 minutes a day
Years 3–4: up to 30 minutes a day
Years 5–6: up to 45 minutes a day
Years 7–10: devices for up to 25 per cent of subject time
Years 11–12: devices for up to 50 per cent of subject time
The changes are expected to be introduced as recommendations in 2027 before becoming mandatory across NSW public schools from 2028. Schools will also be encouraged to provide at least an hour of pen-and-paper learning each day, while device-based homework would generally not be required before Year 5.
The move is notable well beyond NSW as schools continue to consider the appropriate role of laptops, tablets and other technology in learning. For international schools, many of which have long-established 1:1 device programmes, the NSW approach adds another significant example to the wider discussion about when technology improves learning — and when students may be better served without a device.
The changes do not represent a blanket 15-minute limit on classroom ‘screen time’. The restrictions relate specifically to students’ individual use of devices, with different limits according to age and year level.
Read the original reporting from The Guardian.
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