UK to ban mobile phones in schools under new plan

In a recent move the UK is again considering to ban mobile phones for under 16s after conducting a trial in previous months.

A ban on mobile phones in schools in England is to be introduced by the government to ensure that “critical safeguarding legislation” is passed.

The government will table an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill in the House of Lords after the bill was held up by peers on opposition benches.

It will make existing guidance on mobile phone bans in schools statutory, a move that ministers have resisted until now.

The government had consistently argued that the vast majority of schools had already banned mobile phones, and that there was no need to add a legal requirement.

They finally capitulated, however, describing it as “a pragmatic measure” to get the bill through.

Announcing the move on Monday, the education minister Jacqui Smith told the Lords: “We recognise the strength of feeling on this issue, both in this house and beyond.”

“Notwithstanding the fact that we think the guidance we already have in place provides headteachers and schools with a range of approaches to be able to deliver the objective that we all share, we are committing to tabling an amendment in lieu which will place the existing guidance on a statutory footing on the face of the bill, creating a clear legal requirement for schools.”

The bill is regarded by many as the biggest piece of child protection legislation in decades and includes proposals for a compulsory register for children who are not in school, a crackdown on profiteering in children’s social care, and a “single unique identifier” to help agencies track a child’s welfare.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has previously written to headteachers in England to stress that schools should be phone-free throughout the entire school day, but the guidance has been non-statutory.

Notably, research from the children’s commissioner for England last year found that 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools already had policies in place that limited or restricted the use of mobile phones during the school day.