ALL devices will be banned from East Ayrshire schools this month.

‘No Screen Time Day’ will take place on Wednesday, November 20, across all schools and early learning and childcare settings.

It comes as it was reported that 82 per cent of children aged five-seven go online for almost 10 hours a week and 99 per cent of teens spends almost a full day online a week.

Screen time and its effects on development have been an issue of interest for some time now, and there is evidence to suggest that increased screen time can have a negative effect on attention, speech and listening skills; children’s weight, movement and cognitive abilities; as well as behavioural, social and emotional issues.

Research shows that prolonged time spent in front of screens and on social media can negatively affect their sleep, which can have a knock-on effect on health, well-being, education and relationships with friends and family.

The initiative has been jointly co-ordinated by East Ayrshire Speech and Language Therapy Team and East Ayrshire Council.

Councillor Fiona Campbell, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning, East Ayrshire Council welcomed the move. She said: “This is a great initiative, and one which has already been successfully piloted in a couple of our establishments.

“The screen-free day will encourage pupils, parents and teachers to engage more with each other and rediscover the art of meaningful conversation. I look forward to hearing how the schools take this forward.”