Children's online activity needs strong monitoring- Norfolk Dad
It follows the Government urging headteacher's to make their schools free of phones, throughout the day
A local campaigner says pressure from concerned parents is behind new policy on social media.
It's as education secretary Bridget Phillipson has written to schools in England, telling them to be phone free.
"That number alone just shows you how strong the depth of feeling is here"
Thorfinn Armstrong lives in Great Moulton and is a father of two:
"Concerned parents have been making their thoughts and voices heard on this.
"I know there were over 200 thousand letter written in the last couple of weeks alone, organised by the 'Smartphone-free childhood' campaign.
"That number alone just shows you how strong the depth of feeling is here.
"The whole thing is a problem when it comes to children being allowed unfettered access to the internet- whether that's through social-media, browsing or games.
"When there isn't that monitoring, it's very much an Aladdin's cave of potential pitfalls".
"Not appropriate for phones to be used as calculators, or for research"
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) welcomed the letter, but said the challenge for schools is the practicalities of enforcing phone bans.
"We would therefore like to see Government support in providing schools with the resources needed for the safe and secure storage of mobile phones during the school day, ensuring that pupils cannot access these devices at all," said ASCL general secretary Pepe Di'Iasio.
In the letter Bridget Phillipson said it was "not appropriate for phones to be used as calculators, or for research" both inside and outside of class time.
Last week, the Government issued updated guidance around phone use in schools, stressing pupils "should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons".
NAHT school leaders' union general secretary Paul Whiteman welcomed the clarity provided in the letter, but said schools will need time to communicate with students and implement the logistics to put a complete ban in place.
Last year, Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Dan Price announced the PCC would set aside £150,000 in funding for schools to have pouches to lock phones away in during the day.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said it will also be taking immediate action on children's social media use, including directing Ofsted to examine schools' mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented during inspections.
"Schools should make sure those policies are applied consistently across classes and at all times and we want parents to back these policies too," Ms Phillipson said in her letter.
The ASCL said: "We welcome the Education Secretary's letter, which reflects the policies already in place in most schools, and particularly her encouragement that these policies should be supported by parents."
However, both ASCL and NAHT have criticised the prospect of Ofsted inspecting phone policies in schools.
"It betrays an unwarranted lack of trust in school leaders. School leaders will feel threatened rather than supported by this approach," said Mr Whiteman.
Teachers have also been advised not to use their phones in front of pupils.
According to data supplied by the DSIT, 99.9% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools have mobile phone policies in place.
However, 58% of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used without permission in at least some lessons, rising to 65% for key stage four pupils.
Meanwhile, some campaigners have said the clarity on phone bans does not go far enough.
A spokesperson for Generation Focus, which represents three mums who want to see a statutory ban on phones in schools, said: "The scale of smartphone addiction we are seeing means schools need the full force of the law behind them in order to maintain a genuinely smartphone-free environment.
"It's not fair to leave head teachers to fix this deeply embedded societal norm. The guidance also lacks clarity, which will make it very difficult for Ofsted to enforce."
The letter today follows ministers launching a consultation on implementing an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s in the UK.
The consultation will look at options including raising the digital age of consent and restricting potentially addictive app design features such as "streaks" and "infinite scrolling".
Ministers will visit Australia as part of the consultation, where a social media ban for under-16s came into force in December.
The Government will seek views from parents and young people and will respond in the summer, DSIT said.