Bill passes to legally ban phones in schools

By Maddy Hui

A statutory phone ban regarding the use of phones in primary and secondary school has been passed after minor amendments. Initially proposed by Conservative Shadow Education Minister Baroness Barran, the ban forms part of the Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which prevents phones from being “seen and heard” during the school day. This ban was previously under advisory status, meaning it was devolved to schools for implementation, rather than being a mandatory legal requirement. 

The ban will apply to all students attending primary and secondary school in the United Kingdom, and is likely to be implemented through the mandatory storage in phones in lockers or pouches during the school day. Several exceptions apply, regarding sixth formers, international pupils, pupils with a disability or medical condition, and young carers.

The impact of education and social media on children is more politically relevant than ever

Regarding sixth formers, the ban acknowledges their “independence and responsibility”, and permits use in limited times and locations away from younger students at the school’s discretion. As for international pupils and young carers, while they have enjoyed no formal exception to the ban, schools are expected to “facilitate time zone appropriate communication” between international pupils and their parents, and “allow flexibility” for young carers. Lastly, as the Equality Act 2010 prevents disabled pupils from suffering a “significant disadvantage” from school policy, they may be exempted from the ban if “the nature of their disability” deems their phone a necessary tool. The same applies to pupils with a medical condition under the Children and Families Act 2014 – which may manifest as a diabetic pupil needing their phone to monitor their blood sugar during the school day. 

The ban comes at a time where the impact of education and social media on children has been more politically relevant than ever. In 2023, the Online Safety Act mandated that internet service companies prevented underaged users from accessing inappropriate content, acting as a significant acknowledgement of the effects of social media consumption. 

Although more than 90% of primary and secondary schools already had phone bans in place, up to 58% of secondary students were still found to use their phones at school

The need for the ban can also be attributed to the prevalence of phone usage; although more than 90% of primary and secondary schools already had phone bans in place, up to 58% of secondary students were still found to use their phones at school. Campaigners have argued that the new act is necessary to give schools legal authority for the ban, whilst providing government funding to facilitate more effective phone bans. Other reasons cited include how phones facilitate online bullying, the spread of dangerous viral challenges, and the distraction of pupils from studying through addictive measures such as autoplay and digital chatbots. Schools have been generally receptive of the ban; the head of the Association of School and College Leaders, Pepe Di’lasio stated his hope that the government would provide the funding needed to successfully implement the measure. On average, 102 hours of work by teachers and administrative staff has been found necessary to maintain the phone ban. 

Politically, credit has been claimed across the aisle for the ban – a government spokesperson claimed the ban succeeded in spite of “repeated attempts” at sabotage by Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. However, Conservative Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott commented it was dismissed by Labour as “an unnecessary gimmick” for years. Notably, the Conservatives are now consulting relevant parties to a ban on those under sixteen to use social media, which is seen as the next step in regulating the exposure of minors to the internet. 

Education as a whole continues to be a crucial national debate, as multiple parties have introduced measures relating to changing its form or content. Specifically, Reform UK has attracted criticism from observers due to their education policies, which include implementing a “patriotic” curriculum restoring “national pride” within their first 100 days in government. The party suggests the current curriculum is substandard and biased towards government agendas, such as mass migration. This is preceded by other efforts to rejuvenate the current schooling system, which was preceded by proposals such as the Conservative’s Advanced British Standard, a now-scrapped post-16 qualification, and the Green Party’s Manifesto suggestion to teach “the climate and biodiversity crises” into “fully inclusive” education systems. The question of improving the education system and how pupils engage with it will undoubtedly continue to receive political attention in the future. 

Image credit: ‘Mobile phone cage in high school‘ by Chainwit licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons