Broadly speaking, both the Estonian government and schools in the country are on the same page when it comes to the use of smart devices. They believe children should be able to use their devices in class with the teacher's permission, but in between lessons should interact with their peers face to face. To achieve this goal however, different solutions have been proposed.

"Increasingly, we're moving towards talking to pupils and talking to parents. When we started this maybe three years ago, it was not nice: it was tiring for the pupils, it was tiring for the teachers and the parents didn't understand what was going on at all. But as we go into this academic year, most of the children in the corridors and our classrooms, let alone in lessons, are not using smartphones. A few of course do, but that's completely logical," said Merike Truu, principal of Tallinn's Pääsküla School.

At Pääsküla School, signs have been put up reminding pupils that phones are not allowed. However, at the end of each corridor there are also designated "smart areas," where phone use is allowed, though only for specific purposes.

"We want to limit this activity there, that's one aspect. And the other aspect is to limit addictive activities, so social media is the main thing, which is constantly being scrolled back and forth and so on. But we don't ban messaging, we don't ban calling, we don't ban that kind of stuff. But we would prefer students to socialize or move around during their breaks rather than sitting in a row looking at their phones," explained Truu.

However, there are also schools in Estonia where phones have to stay in students' school bags and cannot be taken out at all.

"In Estonian upper secondary schools, it has been the policy for seven to eight years that students in grades one to nine cannot use their smartphones during the school day unless the teacher specifically assigns them a task requiring them to do so," explained Madis Somelar, head of studies at Tallinn Secondary School of Science (Tallinna Reaalkool).

"For high schools, the fact that there are no specific regulations means there is an expectation that students will have developed the awareness by the age of 16 to be able to decide for themselves whether or not they are on their phones during break times,"  Somelar added.

This rule applies from the moment a student arrives at school in the morning until the time they leave the premises. There are exceptions, of course, but this is the general rule. If a student breaks this rule, a conversation with them is considered the best way to resolve the problem.

"Of course, there are those students who you still see during recess that have picked up their phones. But that's part and parcel of education. In those cases, we stop and have a conversation with the pupil, or even ask them what the problem is that they're dealing with. Things can't be completely rigid," Somelar said.

School leaders say that in order to get the best results, it is also crucial to talk to parents as well as children. According to Merike Truu, the situation at Pääsküla School has improved significantly this year because parents are now taking the issue more seriously.

"And from then on, when the parents got behind it, I felt that the children realized the teachers now have less work to do just to talk to them about maybe not being on their smartphones all the time," said Truu.

There's even a case at the school where a meeting between parents of children in class 6B resulted in the decision that the students would give their phones to the teacher during the school day for safekeeping.

"At the beginning of the school day, they put their phones in a safe place – or in our class specifically, we have a box like this – and at the end of the school day, they take them back," said Reet Varik, the head of class 6B at Tallinn Secondary School of Science.

According to Varik, this initiative came from the parents. "They also pointed out that very often, for example, at sports camps and camps for hobbies, they also hand their phones in, so that they don't have the opportunity to be on their smart devices during the day," said Varik.

The phones are only taken out of the box if it is necessary to use them for school work. The box is kept at the teacher's desk and is not locked but according to the class teacher, the students understand that smart devices can interfere with learning.

"Just yesterday we had a long discussion and they came to the conclusion that it's actually addictive because you watch one video, then want the next one, then the next one and end up getting totally distracted," Varik said.

"So the main thing is that we have to discuss it with the youngsters themselves. We have to agree on common rules, and we have to show that this is our common concern, that this is not something that someone from outside is coming along and saying 'this is what we say, so this is what you have to do'," Varik said.

Two weeks ago, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs Riina Sikkut (SDE) announced that she wants to ban smart devices in schools outside classroom hours. School leaders are not opposed to the introduction of consistent rules, as they believe it would make their lives easier.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of it. On the one hand, if this very strict ban comes in, I don't believe schools will  even agree to it, let alone parents. But maybe if there is some regulation, some options or freedom, then why not, if the state is willing," Truu said.

"We have agreed at the state level when the school day starts, we have agreed at the state level general principle regarding the structure of the school day. Why can't we also regulate the part about mobile phones?" said Somelar.

"It is just that this is also down to cooperation with the school. So, if there were to be a broad framework, then the autonomous element ought to mean that if they want to use (phones) in their teaching, then the teacher is able to choose the methodological approach they wants to use to teach a particular subject. And, of course, parents should back the teachers, because ultimately we are supporting good, quality education for students," she added.

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