Device-Free Boarding: A Quiet Superpower

We’re all living with the same modern tug-of-war: children need digital skills, but too much screen time can leave them wired, distracted, and oddly lonely, even when they think they’re “connected”.

At Pembroke House, we’ve made a simple choice that shapes everything else: children are device-free. No phones. No tablets. No gaming. No scrolling. The only exception is Chromebooks used in class, for learning – and that’s it.

Boarding, in particular, becomes a wonderfully practical ally in keeping childhood grounded, social, active, and genuinely restorative.

A Rhythm That Makes Screens Feel… Less Necessary

One of the biggest challenges with screen time at home is that it can slip in through the cracks: before breakfast, after school, while supper’s cooking, during that tired hour before bed.

Boarding life gently closes those cracks.

When children live in a community with a clear, reassuring rhythm – wake up, lessons, games, meals together, prep, showers, reading, sleep – the day naturally fills with real things. There’s less “dead time” to reach for a device, and more shared momentum.

And because we’re device-free, evenings don’t become a battle of willpower. They become what they’re meant to be: a wind-down.

Better Sleep means Better Moods and Better Focus

Screens aren’t just entertainment; they’re stimulation. Bright light, rapid dopamine hits, constant novelty – it’s a lot for growing brains, especially at the end of the day.

A device-free environment supports:

• More settled bedtimes

• Deeper sleep

• Better concentration the next day

• More emotionally steady children

We’re giving the nervous system gets a chance to properly exhale.

More Time for Real Friendship

There’s a particular sort of friendship that forms when children spend time together without a digital escape hatch.

They talk. They muck about. They argue and repair. They make up games. They sit in companionable silence. They learn each other’s humour. They become, in the best possible way, part of a little tribe.  Boarding gives children hours of shared life that aren’t scheduled into a “playdate”, and not mediated through a screen. We believe this is the best kind of social development, and it’s why Pembrokians remain friends for life.

Real Enrichment Away From Digital Noise

When screens aren’t available, children do something quietly brilliant: they find things to do.

That might be sport, art, music, reading, chess, making shacks, skateboarding, building something, organising something, learning a new skill, or simply being outside until the light goes. At Pembroke, the environment does a lot of the heavy lifting by providing open space, fresh air, strong routines, and adults who know when to step in, and when to let childhood unfold.

Digital Literacy, Kept in Its Proper Place

We’re not pretending the digital world doesn’t exist. Children absolutely need to learn to use technology as a tool, and that’s why Chromebooks have a clear, purposeful role in lessons.

But we also believe something else: children deserve a childhood where the digital world doesn’t take over the emotional centre of gravity. So we teach the skills, and protect the space.

Why This Matters (Especially Now)

For many families, “screen time” isn’t really about screens. It’s about energy and mood, sleep, confidence, attention span, anxiety, family friction and a sense that childhood is slipping indoors. It can turn into a real battleground, and make family life quite challenging; and we as a school can support you through this if it is becoming difficult.

Device-free boarding doesn’t solve everything, but it does something powerful: it creates a daily structure where childhood has room again, to be social, physical, imaginative, and properly human.

And that, in 2026, is no small thing.