Water levels are falling across Greater Manchester but flood alerts remain in place after heavy rain battered the region.
02.10.2023 - 15:43 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Headteachers in Greater Manchester say the proposed ban on mobile phones in schools is 'a farce of an issue'.
With Education Secretary Gillian Keegan using today's Conservative Party conference in Manchester to set out plans to ban phones from classrooms in England, leaders have been telling us there are far more urgent matters that need addressing in education.
While they acknowledge that mobile phone use is an issue among young people, it's often what is happening on them outside of school that causes the problems.
Like most secondary schools across our region and beyond, pupils at both Co-op Academy Walkden, in Salford, and Newman Catholic College, in Chadderton, Oldham, are fully aware that phones cannot be used throughout the day - that includes break times.
READ MORE: Read more of the M.E.N's parenting content
READ MORE: Ceiling falls in at former Wilko just hours after brand new Poundland opening
Describing smartphones as 'attention hoovers', Co-op Academy's head Matt Hacker said phones in class would 'distract us from what matters most in school - learning and engaging with the curriculum'.
While Newman head Glyn Potts said a mobile phone ban has already been in place for 10 years now and blasted the announcement as 'a farce of an issue'.
He said: "Of all the issues we face in education at the moment, mobile phones isn’t in my top 10. I would want to see action towards SEND funding, children missing education, the mental health crisis, crumbling schools and the recruitment issue - but we have phones."
Mr Hacker agreed, saying 'most schools have already addressed the issues around mobile phone usage and have clear policies in place to deal with it'.
He said: "For schools right now, the more pertinent issues
Water levels are falling across Greater Manchester but flood alerts remain in place after heavy rain battered the region.
An international drugs boss from Greater Manchester who racked up 'eye-watering wealth' and lived a lavish 'jet-setting lifestyle' has lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence.
The team tasked with transforming the Strangeways area on the edge of Manchester city centre has been selected. Consultants have been appointed by two councils to draw up a masterplan for the much-maligned neighbourhood for the next decade and beyond.
A couple who live with thousands of pet insects and let them roam freely has told of how the creepy crawlies escape their home '24/7' - and how they 'kill the mood' when they enter the bedroom.
The youth who imported the knife used to kill Yousef Makki deleted 47 items from his own iPhone after the fatal stabbing, a new inquest into the death was told.
October half term is almost here, which means you're probably on the hunt for things to do with the kids.
Andy Burnham has released a statement on the crisis in Gaza and 'condemned without reservation the appalling attacks in Israel by Hamas'. The Mayor also said he was 'determined' that all communities in Greater Manchester would be kept safe, while also reiterating the right of the public to take part in peaceful protest.
October’s mini heatwave is set to end this week after the month kicked off with an unseasonable warm spell. The country has enjoyed warm and pleasant conditions over recent days with temperatures reaching the mid 20s in some areas.
More than 200 people in Greater Manchester may have died due to air pollution since the Clean Air Zone was supposed to start, campaigners have claimed. The controversial scheme which was set to come into force last year before it was delayed could have also prevented 496 days spent in hospital due to respiratory conditions if it cut pollution as intended, they argue.
Jewish leaders in Greater Manchester say they are working alongside police on security operations after Israel came under attack.
A service station on the M62 has been named the worst in the country for a second year in a row. Hartshead Moor East in West Yorkshire ranked bottom in a list of 120 motorway service stations, according to a survey of more than 30,000 visitors.
Rishi Sunak - widely expected to announce the axing of the Manchester leg of HS2 - will criticise decades of politicians making 'the easy decision, not the right one' when he takes to the stage at the Conservative Party Conference in the heart of the city.
A senior NHS surgeon in Greater Manchester has been struck off for claiming the Covid pandemic was a 'worldwide conspiracy' and publicly criticising lockdowns and vaccines.
A ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach has received three prestigious awards with one naming it the ‘best’ of its type in the world.
Mobile phones will be banned in classrooms under new government rules, the Education Secretary will announce today (Monday October 2).
The Trafford Centre celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, leaving plenty of shoppers feeling nostalgic about favourite times and first times at the giant shopping centre. The £600m mall officially opened its doors to the public on September 10, 1998, after an epic 27-month construction at Dumplington.
Fans have jumped to Molly-Mae Hague's defence after she enjoyed a 'quick trip' to Paris. Earlier this week the influencer revealed she'd ditched the UK for the seventh time this year and headed to the French capital amid the annual Paris Fashion Week.
Just six months ago, the government vowed HS2 - conceived in 2009 - would roll into Manchester, saying it would 'form the foundations for improved rail services in the north through the Northern Powerhouse'. Now those foundations appear to be shaking, if not crumbling.
Libraries across Greater Manchester will be participating in Black History Month by hosting events celebrating black female pioneers who made history.
A service station on the M6 near Manchester has been ranked the UK's cleanest, according to new research.