A briefing on a €9 million plan to buy phone pouches for schools said they were easy to use, cost-effective, and better for “equity” among students.
A Department of Education document said it also avoided mobiles being put “on display," which could be divisive for pupils over who had the most expensive or up-to-date device.
Six schools were contacted about their experiences of using pouches, with all of them “very positive” about how they worked.
The briefing said there were half a dozen solutions to avoid use of phones, including placing them in school bags, handing them in at a central location each day, or using a locker.
The other ideas were specific transparent phone lockers, mobile lockers in classes, and the controversial “lockable phone pouch” suggestion.
The briefing said: “All schools have indicated that a solution where students retain responsibility for their phones rather than placing them in a central location is preferable.”
Of schools consulted about pouches, department officials said they were paying between €14 and €27 per pouch with some buying them outright and others renting.
The briefing said one school which had been an ‘early adopter’ of pouches had been able to get them for just €11 each.
Department officials said a working estimate of €20 per pouch would lead to a cost of around €8.57 million in the first year of use.
They estimated a replacement rate of around 20 percent each year meaning there would be a further annual bill of €1.7 million into the future.
However, officials said it was probable a discount could be achieved given the scale of the purchase envisaged.
An internal email did say, however, it was tricky to say precisely how much the phone pouches would cost.
One message from September said: “It is difficult to get a handle on costs for the systems in place for mobile phone sanctions in schools.
“I spoke personally with several principals this week and the schemes in place are not uniform, and it seems have changed a lot in a short time in pricing and sales models.”
The department briefings also said that in every school where pouches were used so far, the costs had ultimately been paid by parents.
It said: “Some schools had built in additional costs over and above an annual 'student service charge' that those schools charge for various services, to cover the fact that some parents will not pay.
“One school referenced using a grant from St Vincent de Paul to supplement the student service charge for families that cannot pay it.”
It also said that experiences so far showed “full buy-in” from teachers, parents and pupils was needed.
The briefing said there were variations with some principals allowing mobile use during breaks or where students were allowed to leave the school complex for lunch.
“All were adamant that even though there may be efforts to subvert the use of the pouches, they removed possible areas of conflict from school life,” it said.
The officials added that three of the principals who used the system described it as “transformational.”
The briefing said: “They were enthusiastic and convinced fully about the impact on students' school experiences, the atmosphere in school [and] the embedding of the phone-free culture.”
They also reported an increased uptake in social interaction, sports and club activity because of the amount of time freed up for pupils.
It added: “Sanction for a student required to use a pouch who was seen to have an unpouched phone was strongly enforced – confiscation and detention were used.
“The instances of sanction were low.”
The briefing said that even staff who were originally sceptical had come on board after seeing how it removed “ambiguity and conflict”.
Asked about the records, a Department of Education spokesman said many schools already had well-developed storage solutions for phones and these had been asked for input.
He said: “This sampling process identified that the use of storage solutions worked well and provided students with an opportunity to get a mental break from technology and make friends offline“Work is underway to establish a robust mechanism for schools to easily procure appropriate phone storage solutions to assist with implementing a ban on the use of mobile phones by students across the school day.”
