Schools told to BAN mobile phones under new Government guidance
SCHOOLS have been instructed to ban mobile phones from classrooms under new Government guidance.
The crackdown aims to tackle “unnecessary distraction” during lessons and throughout the rest of the school day.
It is currently up to individual schools to decide their own policies on mobile phones and whether they should be banned, with many already introducing prohibitions.
But the guidance issued today, which is non-statutory, aims to provide “clarity and consistency” for teachers and staff.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said it will give teachers across England the “tools take action to help improve behaviour and to allow them to do what they do best – teach”.
The Cabinet Minister had first pledged to bring forward the ban at Tory conference last year.
But the plan was met with scepticism at the time, with education figures suggesting it would be “unenforceable”.
Tom Bennet, who advises the Department for Education on behaviour, said: “Mobile phones may be ubiquitous, but we have a strong and growing understanding of how damaging they can be for a child’s social and educational development.
“And it’s the least advantaged who suffer most. Many schools already have some kind of policy on phones, but this guidance provides a clear steer for everyone, including parents, about what’s right and what’s not for the wellbeing of the child.”
The guidance issued by the Department for Education calls on the importance on having clear, consistent policies, including during lessons, breaks, and lunchtimes.
Schools are advised to implement various strategies for implementing the ban, ranging from confiscation of devices to detentions.
It also empowers headteachers and authorised staff to search a pupil or their possessions if there’s reasonable suspicion of a prohibited item, like a mobile phone.
The Government has previously warned if schools fail to implement the guidance, it will consider legislating in the future to make it statutory.
Last year, a report from the United Nations (UN) highlighted data which suggested that “mere proximity” to a mobile device could distract students and have a negative impact on their learning.
In 2021, former education secretary Gavin Williamson said he wanted a ban on mobile phones in classrooms but revised Government guidance on behaviour in schools issued the following year said it was up to headteachers to decide.
Mobile phones have already been largely banned from classrooms in France, Italy and Portugal in a bid to limit distractions during lessons.