Sandy Chappell

Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist Specialist in #DevLangDis and Speech Sound Disorders Elklan Tutor

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

🙏

[Peeple @PeepleCentre]

We worked with Speech and Language Therapist @SandyChatterbox on our TALK programme & are delighted to share a discount code for her book 'How to Raise a Chatterbox: A Parents’ Guide to Speech & Language Development .'

Visit https://t.co/HNEA0K2QBn & use PEEP25 for 25% off.

[safescreenscampaign @safe_screens]

Councils have duties to educate, safeguard and promote children's welfare. Suggesting parents who are concerned about the impact of tech in schools to "home educate" isn't an answer - it's an abdication.
@LauraTrottMP @scotborders
https://t.co/zmpUJoKeG8

[Raise The Age @RaiseTheAge16]

🚨 BREAKING: A huge win for our children. The Government has committed to raising the age limit for harmful social media to 16.

Thank you to every parent, teacher, health professional, police officer and supporter who spoke out, stood firm and helped make this happen.

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

Health professionals are required to engage in evidence-based practice. The same should be true in education.
There is no evidence that digital devices improve learning outcomes.
Screens certainly don’t belong in Early Years settings.
@HP4SaferScreens

[Jean Twenge (author of 10 RULES, GENERATIONS) @jean_twenge]

Parents have had it. Kindergartners should not be watching YouTube at school. In a few years, we're going to look back at school tablets and laptops and wonder what the heck we were thinking, especially for elementary school students. https://t.co/8jnyqHONvP

[safescreenscampaign @safe_screens]

"I'm aching to write with pencil again" "The learning feels impersonal and robotic." "Teachers are constantly competing with their Chromebooks for attention."
4–6 hours on screens at school. 3–4 more at home. UK children are living the same reality. It must change. @CommonsEd

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

The Education Select Committee Report 2024 concluded:
"The overwhelming weight of evidence submitted to us suggests that the harms of screen time significantly outweigh the benefits for young children".
Why then are screens still used throughout the day in most EY settings?

[safescreenscampaign @safe_screens]

We have new screen guidance for families but nothing for EYs settings - many are using cartoons and YouTube without considering the impact on children.
"Screens trigger the fight or flight response - it's why children are ratty when they come off screens." @ProfSamWass @CommonsEd @educationgovuk
https://t.co/qgmfQEuFbc

[GB News @GBNEWS]

'Parents simply don't know how serious the harms are... It affects whole child health.'

Early Years Speech and Language Therapist Sandy Chappell applauds the Government's new advice on limiting screen time for children.

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

@LauraTrottMP @baronesscash @toadmeister AI chat bots are a disaster for young children.
AI is designed to grab and hold children’s attachment & young children can’t tell the difference between a bot and a person. They genuinely think they have a new friend.
Toys with built in AI chat bots should be banned.

[Laura Trott MP @LauraTrottMP]

Labour have chosen inaction. Their consultation asks whether to ban social media, not how to implement one. It fails to meet the scale of the challenge & gives the Govt a blank cheque to do nothing or weak responses like curfews. If MPs want change, then they should vote for it.

[Laura Trott MP @LauraTrottMP]

Strongly agree.

For months the Education Secretary has dismissed a phone ban in schools as a “gimmick”. This feels like a move to head off backbench unrest next week. MPs should just back teachers and support a proper ban by voting with us next week.

[Karen Vaites @karenvaites]

The anti-Ed Tech and pro-book movements are gaining momentum, especially for elementary grades.

Let's get the memo to the nation's curriculum selection committees, pronto.

They're making curriculum choices right now that schools will live with for the next 5-7 years.

My latest for @CurriculumIP:

Feat. @JonHaidt @natwexler @mark_bauerlein @KelseyTuoc

[Camus @newstart_2024]

Short-form videos are literally rotting kids’ brains—and the science is stacking up fast.

A major new meta-analysis (covering studies over the last decade) shows heavy TikTok/Reels/YouTube Shorts consumption is strongly linked to:

- Shorter attention spans

- Reduced logical & analytical reasoning

- Weaker memory

- Poorer impulse control

- Increased anxiety

Dr. Cheryl Ziegler (mental health expert):
“These are quick dopamine hits with shallow, mindless content. For developing brains (ages 10–18 especially), it conditions kids to find books, deep thinking, and anything slow ‘boring.’ It’s not defiance—it’s rewiring.”

She stresses: We can’t yet prove causation (long-term studies needed), but the correlation is strong enough that parents should treat it like a major red flag—right up there with proven harm.

Bottom line: Endless scrolling isn’t harmless entertainment. It’s training young minds for instant gratification and shallow processing at the exact age when deeper neural pathways should be forming.

Parents: How bad is the short-video habit in your house—and what (if anything) are you doing to push back?

Source: 9NEWS (YouTube)

[Hugh Grant @HackedOffHugh]

Final chance to write to the consultation to try and stop the government taking school exams online. This is the address to write to.

[email protected]

And here’s what I wrote.

[Hugh Grant @HackedOffHugh]

US corporations are knowingly harming our children to enrich themselves. Let’s force this government to grow a pair. No more consultation bullshit. Great campaign from ⁦@MumsnetTowers⁩ #supporthesocialban (And no, none of my children have smartphones.)

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

💯

[Laura Trott MP @LauraTrottMP]

This is a brilliant campaign. @MumsnetTowers are absolutely right to call for a social media ban for u16s. I hope MPs will come together & back our proposal, rather than choosing more delay with another consultation. It’s not good enough. We must help parents & protect childhood.

[Karen Vaites @karenvaites]

Neuroscience proves what you already suspected:

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

@karenvaites When I discuss the impact of screens with parents in my clinic, I have to include ‘technoference’ i.e. the harm of parental device use on a child’s language & social skills and emotional development.
We draw up a family digital plan with areas that are screen-free for everyone.

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

https://t.co/v4DRfWwVyp

“Schools in Sweden are returning to more traditional learning methods - such as reading from physical books - after seeing their reading standards drop while ipads and laptops were used.”

@HP4SaferScreens @safe_screens

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

@Kathy_Rice Speech and language therapists are seeing it too, at a very young age.

[Sandy Chappell @SandyChatterbox]

@newstart_2024 I see the impact on children’s language skills in my clinic every day.

[Laura Trott MP @LauraTrottMP]

We can & must do more to protect children from the harms of screens & social media. Labour’s choice to consult on whether to ban social media for u16s, rather than how to implement a ban, is a smokescreen for inaction. If MPs truly want change, they should back us & vote for it.