# NSW puts a clock on classroom screens

> From 2028, NSW public schools will cap device time by year group and hand kids back a pen for an hour a day.
- Title: NSW puts a clock on classroom screens · the Guardian
- Summary: From 2028, NSW public schools will cap device time by year group and hand kids back a pen for an hour a day. NSW is treating screen time in class as…
- Keywords: education, screen time, new south wales, schools, policy, news, world, NSW, puts, clock, classroom, screens
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/13/nsw-to-put-strict-caps-on-screen-time-in-classrooms-while-pushing-for-pen-and-paper-learning
- Published: 2026-09-13T02:00:53+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: education, screen time, new south wales, schools, policy, news, world
## NSW caps classroom screens
The New South Wales government will limit how long public school students spend on devices in class, and push daily pen and paper work alongside it.
## Youngest get 15 minutes
Kindergarten to Year 2 students are held to 15 minutes a day on a tablet or laptop. Years 3 and 4 get 30 minutes, Years 5 and 6 get 45.
## High school counts by subject
Years 7 to 10 can use personal devices for a quarter of subject time. Senior students get up to half. Homework guidelines advise no screen use below Year 5.
## An hour with a pen
Guidelines will recommend at least one hour a day of pen and paper learning. The rules are advisory next year and mandatory across NSW schools from 2028.

> a minimum of one hour a day
## Why now
Education minister Prue Car points to research showing students on screens up to seven hours a day, and says the phone ban already cut classroom distraction.

> we are seeing reading and writing skills go backwards for a whole generation of children
## Part of a wider push
Victoria announced something similar and federal minister Jason Clare has floated a digital detox. The state's chief paediatrician backed the move; digital literacy stays in the curriculum.
## Key takeaway

NSW is treating screen time in class as something to ration by year group, with an hour of handwriting a day as the counterweight.