Schools should be ‘Phone-Free’ all day, education secretary tells teachers
Students in England should be banned from using mobile phones for the entire school day, the education secretary has said.
Bridget Phillipson has written to headteachers urging schools to become “phone-free environments,” stressing that devices should not be used in lessons, between lessons, or during break and lunchtime.
This includes using phones as calculators or for research purposes.
“All schools should be phone-free environments for the entire school day,” Ms Phillipson wrote.
“Clear boundaries, applied with consistency and fairness, give pupils the best chance to learn and thrive, and schools should feel confident in setting and enforcing them.”
The guidance follows updated government recommendations issued last week, which highlighted that pupils should not have access to phones at any point during the school day.
Teachers are also being advised not to use their own phones in front of students.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will now take immediate action to tackle children’s social media use, including asking Ofsted to review mobile phone policies in schools and how effectively they are enforced.
Statistics from DSIT show that nearly all primary schools (99.9%) and most secondary schools (90%) already have mobile phone policies.
However, reports indicate that 58% of secondary school students have used phones without permission during lessons, rising to 65% among key stage four pupils.
The announcement comes as the government begins consulting on a potential Australian-style social media ban for under-16s. The consultation will consider raising the digital age of consent and restricting addictive app features, such as infinite scrolling.
Ministers are expected to visit Australia to examine the policy, which came into effect there last December.
The government aims to gather feedback from parents and young people, with a response expected in the summer.
Ms Phillipson urged schools to implement phone policies consistently and with parental support, saying this approach will help pupils focus on learning and reduce distractions.