An Australian school is taking a unique approach to educating students about social media and internet safety.

Pymble Ladies’ College has launched a 'Wise Phones' initiative that gives students in Years 4 to 8 age-appropriate smartphones that block social media and the internet until they reach Year 10 or 16 years of age.

Principal Dr Kate Hadwen says it's important to teach kids about the technology slowly as they age - rather than banning phones outright.

"It's a little bit like learning to swim - when we have our children, we don't throw them into the ocean, we teach them slowly and take them with us on the journey. And that's what I believe about the use of technology as well."

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