Mobile phone to be banned in schools in England

Mobile phone use should be banned in schools across England to improve behaviour, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has announced. 

New guidance from the Department for Education will back head teachers in banning mobile phone use throughout the school day, including at break times, to tackle disruptive behaviour and online bullying while boosting attention during lessons. 

The move will bring England in line with other countries that have already implemented a ban, including France, Italy and Portugal. It follows warnings from the United Nations on the risks of smartphones in schools and government data that found around a third (29%) of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used when they were not supposed to in most, or all, lessons.   

If schools fail to implement the new guidance, the government will consider legislating in the future to make the guidance statutory. 

The guidance will set out limited exemptions where necessary – for example, where children require their phones for medical reasons.