11 Plus Exams Forum

My boys start year 7 in September and due to travelling alone feel I need to get them mobile phones. I don't want to spend a lot but do you go for PAYG, SIM only,month to month, contract (most seem 24 months).

Are there better deals if everyone with same provider?

Seems to be so much choice!!

Do they all have security settings re: access to internet and inappropriate material?

Do you need a large download data allowance or do you just tell your child can only download if hook up to wifi?!

We bought an inexpensive phone and got a giffgaff sim for it. She has a £7.50 goody bag every month (unlimited texts seem to be the best for her). DD has since inherited DHs old iPhone 4. She turns off the 3G most of the time, but knows she has use of it if required. It warns when you have used 80% of your data.

All three of us are on Giffgaff so free calls to each other. I guess most providers have cheaper or free calls if you are on the same network or a family group.

We have same giff gaff months y month 7.50 deal. We bought both boys a non smart phone which they hate for the very same reason I am pleased! No access to Internet (?why needed) or secret hours on Instagram in their bedroom. Text and calls only, which is all you need to ask where your mum is when she is 2 seconds late!!

We have bought dd a cheap phone and she has a SIM through TalkTalk because we are all on the same network. It is quite cheap. £7 ish a month. It warns when her data is low; she is brilliant at keeping an eye on things and mostly has her data off.
We bought a smart phone because, if she does have to catch a bus rather than the school bus (eg if we can't pick her up from a rehearsal) then she has google maps if she needs it, if she gets confused about which bus or if there is a diversion. And you can tell when the next bus is coming as well. Also she does have instagram and whats app so she can message her friends etc - great for if one of them has forgotten a book or doesn't understand the homework - they can just send photos via Whats App. But we have very strict rules about internet access / use plus my dh is a computer whizz and has set everything up (computers/laptops/phones) so they have the same safety settings.

I'd go with a basic £15 phone on a sim only deal to start with and see how things go.
If it transpires there is a real need for a smart phone you can easily upgrade and keep the original as a spare for 'emergencies'.

I'm sure there are year 7s using social media for homework discussions but its probably not its major use and good old fashioned texting might suffice for checking which maths questions to do...

If it turns out that DC is being excluded by lack of access to certain means of communication and you want to allow greater internet access its pretty easy to do so.

Acceptable phones by my standards but not theirs, but by no means up to the minute, on Tesco PAYG. Good deal because their £10 monthly top up gets tripled to £30 and I get club are points too.

Mine have the Motorola Moto E which was free on a capped £7.50 a month contract with Tesco. They've never gone over the limit. They love the phone - the only complaint being it doesn't have a 'selfie' camera (ie you can only take forward facing pictures).

Ours have a tesco contract and they can only go £2 over which they rarely do and just means they miss out the next month. They can do numerous texts, their 3G (?) is fairly limited but fine for their needs.

We let them have one going into secondary as it is useful to track them down and a bit of a right of passage.

Variety of phones, two came with contract, one is a cast off from DH as is mine.

Moto G can be found at a good price (currently £80 in Asda) - good for a smart phone, that is. Plus giff gaff.

We bought DS a PAYG Nokia from Tesco for Christmas (for the Clubcard points and triple credit) and we've put £30 on it so far. He seems happy with it and, thankfully, the novelty has worn off and he doesn't really use it much now. This was the plan so he was used to it before going to his next school. However, it seems that they are not allowed phones at JHGS - does anyone know if the boys really stick to this rule? It would give me peace of mind to know he had it in his bag for emergencies but I'm not good at rule bending! I know we all managed without them but if the technology is there it seems a shame not to take advantage of it.