People | Smartphone Free Schools Rating

Our people

A number of Headteachers and other leaders in the field have contributed to developing this rating scheme. Our Headteacher Co-Chairs are:

Mike Baxter

Co-Founder and Headteacher Co-Chair - Secondary lead

Mike has been Principal of City of London Academy in Southwark since 2019. Since 2021 Mike has been a keen advocate on the need to regulate students' smartphone and social media use due to the plethora of downsides that are now widely known.

In May 2024 Mike worked alongside the other secondary Headteachers in Southwark to align smartphone policies and continues to be an advocate on this matter.

Dr Polly Crowther

Headteacher Co-Chair - Primary lead

Dr Polly Crowther is Headteacher of Cobham Primary School in Kent. She has been lucky enough to work in every phase of education - from Early Years to universities.

Polly is particularly interested in the impact of technology and smartphones on young children's wellbeing, relationships and communication development. She is a strong advocate for meaningful play and is passionate about schools and families working together to protect childhood and ensure that technology supports, rather than replaces, children's real-world experiences and connections.

Headteacher's Strategic Advisory Board

A number of Headteachers and other leaders in the field have worked with us to help develop this rating scheme, including the following.

Team

In addition to Headteachers, the scheme is implemented and run by a wider team.

Georgina Jarman Carr

Co-Founder and Project Lead

Georgina has a background in marketing, in the Geospatial Information Systems industry. With a particular focus on project management and websites, she loves to work with a team to put together great products that work for everybody.

She is passionate about creating safe standards for children, and has been working on the rating system with many collaborators since 2024.

Jennifer Powers

Co-Founder and Development Lead

Jennifer founded the Unplugged Coalition. She has led political engagement on the smartphone issue in the last year, and is a frequent media commentator. She speaks in schools with PAPAYA about the impact of smartphones.

A former Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on energy and business, Jennifer has over 25 years of experience in public policy and strategy.

Luke Studden

Geospatial Lead

Luke has worked in the geospatial industry for just under 20 years and has a passion for using data to make informed decisions.

He is a firm supporter of smartphone free schools and contributes to the initiative with his skills whenever he can.

Clare Feryhough

Advisor

Clare Fernyhough is a Psychologist and behaviour change expert. She co-founded the Smartphone Free Childhood movement after a Whatsapp group she set up with an old friend went viral.

She's passionate about empowering parents and schools to work together more effectively, to change societal norms, roll back the phone-based childhood and allow children to enjoy their precious school years without distraction.

Phil Newson

CEO of Design for Change

As CEO of Burnthebook and Design for Change, Phil brings nearly 30 years of creative, strategic, and digital expertise.

He’s proud to be able to help shape clear, impactful branding and messaging to support the movement for healthier, phone-free learning environments.

David Eagle

Data Integration Advisor

David is a data integration specialist working for Avineon Tensing and has supported the project with his time and advice.

He’s acted as liaison with Safe Software the makers of the FME Platform to facilitate the data management tooling for this vital initiative. He’s proud to be involved in contributing, in some small way, to supporting schools become genuinely smartphone free.

Simon Green

Data Integration Advisor

For Simon, this cause is personal. As a father to school-age children, he was eager to contribute his professional skills to the initiative.

In his day job as Principal Technical Specialist at Avineon Tensing, Simon works with complex data, and he's used that expertise to help the team manage their information more effectively. He's thrilled to be a part of the team!

Alper Dincer

Geospatial Advisor

Alper Dincer is a geospatial engineer and climate-tech specialist with over 22 years of experience building digital mapping, data, and decision-support platforms. He is the CTO of Climingo and was named to the UK Geo100 for his contributions to geospatial innovation.

He has worked with organisations including UNICEF and UNDP, and supports the Smartphone Free Schools Rating project with geospatial and technical expertise.