Mobile phones have become an integral part of daily life, and this is especially true for parents in the UK. With an overwhelming majority of UK adults using smartphones, it’s no surprise that mobile devices have become a go-to tool for managing family schedules, keeping in touch with loved ones, and accessing important information about children’s health and well-being. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at 10 statistics about parents and the use of mobile phones in the UK, highlighting the growing importance of digital communication tools in modern family life.

Here are 10 statistics about parents and the use of mobile phones in the UK:

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1. According to a survey by Common Sense Media, 75% of UK parents say they feel addicted to their mobile phones.
2. A study by Ofcom found that 79% of UK adults use a smartphone, with the majority of users checking their phones within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning.
3. A survey by YouGov found that 47% of UK parents say they use their mobile phone during family meals, with 12% admitting to using their phones “all the time” during meals.
4. According to a survey by Parent Zone, 90% of UK parents say they allow their children to use mobile phones or tablets at home, with the majority of children getting their first device between the ages of 6 and 10.
5. A study by Deloitte found that 76% of UK parents use their mobile phones to help manage their family’s schedule and activities.
6. According to a survey by Netmums, 71% of UK parents say they use their mobile phones to keep in touch with friends and family, with 62% saying they use social media apps to do so.
7. A study by O2 found that 69% of UK parents use their mobile phones to take and share photos and videos of their children.
8. According to a survey by Mumsnet, 63% of UK parents say they use their mobile phones to read news and current events, with 34% saying they check the news multiple times a day.
9. A survey by Barnardo’s found that 70% of UK parents say they use their mobile phones to access information about their children’s health and well-being, such as medical advice and appointment reminders.
10. According to a survey by Statista, the average daily time spent on mobile devices in the UK is 3 hours and 23 minutes, with 68% of that time spent on smartphones.

The statistics show that mobile phones are an integral part of the daily lives of UK parents, with many using their phones to manage their family’s schedule and activities, keep in touch with friends and family, and access information about their children’s health and well-being. Additionally, many parents allow their children to use mobile phones and tablets at home, highlighting the importance of digital communication in modern family life.

Given these trends, it’s clear that schools can benefit from investing in digital communication tools that make it easier for parents to stay informed and engaged with their child’s education. The School Jotter app offers a range of features that make it easier for parents to access school news, photos, and other important information on the go. With galleries, news calendars, and notifications that sync with the school website, parents can stay up to date with school activities and events without having to check multiple sources.

By providing a delightful experience for parental engagement communication, the School Jotter app can help schools strengthen their relationship with parents and improve overall communication and engagement. With more parents relying on mobile devices to stay informed and connected, schools that invest in digital communication tools are more likely to meet the needs and expectations of today’s parents. Overall, the School Jotter app is a smart investment for schools looking to improve parent-school communication and engagement.

Without putting too fine a point on it, I’m not the most organised individual in the world. My working life as a teacher is punctuated by panicked running to half-forgotten meetings, surprise that quickly morphs into heartbreak when the kids turn up to what I could have sworn was a free period and the less I say about my failure to get my bus duty day right the better.

It’s no excuse but I’ve got a lot on my mind (although if you saw me gormlessly wandering the corridors, it may seem like the exact opposite). There’s so much that goes on in school on a daily basis that, for me at least, things can get a little crowded, brain-wise. The sheer volume of tasks that need carrying out and the information that has to be retained means that even as something deceptively easy as prioritisation becomes a chore in itself as I struggle with a to-do list that rolls away into the middle distance and over the horizon.

For a poor unfortunate like me, mobile apps offer the prospect of straightening the looping, meandering tributary of my workflow into something that more closely resembles efficiency. This is no mean feat, considering. Mobile apps can save me effort, time, let me communicate with a wide range of people easily and make me look vaguely competent and less sweaty from all the last-second, panicked corridor dashing to that very important meeting that I’d completely forgotten about until I saw the whole team walking in the opposite direction from me.

The first advantage of using a phone to complete a range of tasks during the day is that it’s always with me. It gives me a central hub where formerly I might have folders, notepads or a pc roughly the size and shape of a back-to-back terrace anchoring me to a certain geographical location. Mobile apps let me be…well…mobile and for someone who doesn’t have their own room (like my good self – I’m assuming they think I can’t be trusted and they’re probably right) travelling light, or at least lighter, is a huge advantage. Of course, I still carry the essential things I need for the class (I dream of one day working in a paperless school and ditching my trusty folding trolley) but it does mean that there is less of a burden to bear.

It’s not just the limiting of physical weight that is an advantage of using mobile apps. They also offer the opportunity to shift and automate some of the more menial tasks that you come across freeing up a bit of cognitive space. Calendar reminders with notifications, to do lists with alarms and other streamlining features act as a digital tap on my shoulder, guiding me to where it is I’m actually supposed to be at any given moment during the day and make my life slightly easier when I get there. It frees me up to concentrate on some of the more in-depth tasks and lessens the ever-constant worry that I may have missed something important.

With the right systems, mobile apps can also make communication in a school or across schools easier. With the current trend in chains and mergers, with institutions over a number of sites with staff in great numbers, making sure you can get in touch with who you need to quickly and easily (especially as there’s no guarantee that they might be within grabbing and shaking distance) is becoming more important. Messaging and mailout services mean there’s easy ways of getting in touch with people, saving time, travel and effort.

Because that’s what me using apps is all about. It saves me an amount of effort in doing certain things and allows me to redirect those efforts into different parts of the job. It makes the way that I work easier and more efficient and also has the added bonus of making me feel a little bit more competent with some of the things that formerly would have left me in a spin. It’s not a spectacular game-changer but in my case, it’s a way of working that really does help me be a little bit better (although with a little less corridor running, I have put on a bit of weight).

In the next post I’ll talk about how school culture can encourage or hinder the use of mobile apps.