NSW caps classroom screen time as test scores fall
New South Wales schools will cap daily screen time from 2027.
NSW public schools are cutting daily screen time starting in 2027, becoming mandatory in 2028. Kindergarten to Year 2 students get 15 minutes, Years 3-4 get 30 minutes, Years 5-6 get 45 minutes, and high schoolers are capped at a quarter to half of class time per subject.
Schools are also told to limit screen homework and avoid digital devices before only Year 5. The move follows Australian students scoring record lows in maths and reading, with teens spending as much as seven hours daily on screens and writing skills falling.
Victoria is making similar cuts from 2027. NSW will exempt students with disability or additional needs.
- 15 minutes
- Daily screen cap, K-2
- 45 minutes
- Daily screen cap, Years 5-6
- As much as seven hours
- Teen daily screen use
Why it mattersReading and writing skills are declining as screen time rises; NSW is betting that pen and paper will reverse the slide.
AustraliaAustralian students spend nearly twice as long on digital learning as the OECD average; NSW's cuts will affect hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren starting next year.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 11 d ago
