Deciding whether or not to ban phones in schools should be left up to the discretion of head teachers rather than being mandated on a national level by the government, according to England’s children’s commissioner. A recent survey of 19,000 schools and colleges conducted by Dame Rachel de Souza revealed that nine out of ten secondary schools already have restrictions in place when it comes to smartphone use among students. Dame Rachel expressed concern that children are spending excessive amounts of time on screens at home and emphasized the need for parents to receive more support in managing their children’s online activities.
The survey conducted by Dame Rachel indicated that almost all primary schools (99.8%) and a significant majority of secondary schools (90%) have specific rules in place regarding the use of phones during the school day. While primary schools typically require students to surrender their phones or store them securely, secondary schools more commonly demand that phones remain out of sight and unused. However, the effectiveness and enforcement of these policies were not explored in the survey. In a separate study commissioned by Dame Rachel, it was found that a large number of children spend several hours each day on electronic devices.
Dame Rachel stressed the importance of supporting parents in supervising their children’s online behavior and advocated for technology companies to take more responsibility in creating a safer online environment. She also recommended that schools maintain clear guidelines on phone usage and educate students about the risks associated with online activities. While she supports head teachers who choose to implement a ban on mobile phones within their schools, she believes that such decisions should be made autonomously and not dictated nationally by the government. Nonetheless, she proposed that further research should be conducted on the potential advantages of broader limitations on children’s phone use, particularly in relation to social media.
On the other hand, a government spokesperson contended that existing legislation, such as the Online Safety Act, already requires social media platforms to remove illegal content and will soon safeguard children against other harmful material online. They noted that schools are provided with guidance on how to regulate phone use, allowing head teachers to determine the best approach for their institutions. The general secretary of the National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, supported the idea of a government-imposed ban on smartphones in schools, suggesting that such a measure would ease the burden on schools and contribute to a more consistent approach across the education system. Kebede also proposed following Australia’s lead in implementing a restriction on social media for individuals under the age of 16, comparing the regulation of online platforms to that of the tobacco industry due to their potential harm to young people
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