Phone Use Policy

Phone Use During Scout Meetings

Bardon Scouts operates a no phones policy during Scout meetings to maximise engagement, safety, and the quality of the Scouting experience.

Why No Phones?

Scout meetings are a time for learning, adventure, friendship and skill development, and phones are a distraction from all of these. Scouting is about face-to-face friendships and working as a team. Scouts looking at phones aren’t paying attention to safety instructions, activities or their surroundings, and leaders need their full attention to keep everyone safe. Using a phone during a meeting is also disrespectful to the volunteer leaders and to the other Scouts taking part.

The Policy

For Scouts: no phone use before, during, or after Scout meetings. Phones should be left at home, in parents’ cars, or turned off in bags, and can’t be used during arrival time, activities, games or pack-up. This applies to all sections: Joeys, Cubs, Scouts, and Venturers.

For parents on roster duty or helping as Adult Supporters: no phone use during meetings except for genuine emergencies, which should be taken away from activity areas. Personal calls, messages and social media should wait until after the meeting.

Emergency Contact

If you need to contact your child during a meeting, call or message their Section Leader. Leaders have phones for emergencies, and your child can use a leader’s phone to call you if needed. If your child needs to contact you, they should ask their Section Leader rather than use their own phone.

Exceptions

Medical devices needed for monitoring (for example, diabetes monitors) are allowed if you let the Section Leader know beforehand.

Planned activities: occasionally leaders use phones as part of an activity, such as for the photography badge or navigation apps on hikes. These are planned and supervised by leaders.

Parent Support

Please support the policy by contacting the Section Leader rather than texting or calling your child during meetings, talking with your child about why the policy matters, encouraging them to leave their phone at home or in the car, and keeping your own phone away if you’re helping at a meeting.

Dealing with Issues

If a Scout uses a phone during a meeting:

First instance - Leader will ask the Scout to put the phone away and remind them of the policy
Continued use - Leader will secure the phone until the end of the meeting and speak with the Scout and parents
Repeated violations - Parents will be contacted, and the Scout may be asked to leave their phone at home or with parents

We handle issues positively, helping Scouts understand why the policy exists.

Questions?

If you have questions about our phone use policy or need to discuss special circumstances, please contact us or speak with your Section Leader. See also our Code of Conduct and Sign In and Out pages.