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The Headmaster takes part in podcast to discuss screen fatigue

Headmaster of St Andrew’s Prep, Gareth Jones, was recently invited by Attain, a leading publisher for parents and schools in the sector, to take part in a podcast to discuss potential screen fatigue during lockdown.

Hosted by Matthew Smith, and sharing the virtual stage with Emma Hattersley, Head of Godolphin School, the trio discuss the screen time dilemma, the merits and downfalls of social screen time following a full screen day at school, exercise and the potential monotony that we are all experiencing.

Reacting quickly to both lockdowns, the pupils of St Andrew’s Prep seem to have taken online learning in their stride but Mr Jones highlighted that children are missing the connection with their friends and that online learning is making some children, particularly further up the school “… feel self-conscious because they see these faces staring at them.”

As part of a full discussion on screen time, Mr Jones commented, “”It comes down to a difference between purposeful screen time and recreational screen time… During the first lockdown the big difference was that it was the summer – people could get outside in the evenings, parents could let their children run around in the garden, just let off some steam. That’s not possible at the moment and children enjoy recreational screen time. So there’s nothing wrong with it, as long as there are limits and so long as there are boundaries…”

You can read more and hear excerpts or the full podcast here: https://attainparents.com/parenting/a-sense-of-sameness