England plans phone ban
- The UK government is moving to ban smartphones in English schools, with ministers preparing a Lords amendment. (bbc.com, edexec.co.uk) - Reports say the change would prevent pupils keeping phones in bags or pockets during lessons. (dailymail.com) - Teachers support the goal but warn enforcement could be time‑consuming and sometimes risky, per published commentary. (theguardian.com)
England’s government is moving to make school phone bans a legal requirement, replacing guidance that schools could choose to ignore. (bbc.com) Education minister Baroness Jacqui Smith told the House of Lords on April 20 that ministers would amend the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to create “a clear legal requirement” on mobile phones in schools. The bill was last updated by Parliament on April 22 as it moved through final stages. (bbc.com) (bills.parliament.uk) The shift would give statutory force to existing Department for Education guidance that says phones should not be used during the school day. The department also said Ofsted started considering schools’ mobile-phone policies in inspections this month. (news.sky.com) (independent.co.uk) Peers backed a Conservative amendment in the Lords by 276 votes to 169, a majority of 107, before the government said it would bring its own change. The Commons was then expected to consider the issue again. (news.sky.com) (independent.co.uk) This is not a brand-new policy for most schools. A survey of more than 15,000 schools reported in 2025 found 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools in England already had some form of phone ban. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The argument in Westminster has shifted from whether schools can ban phones to whether every school must. The Department for Education said the amendment gives legal force to what “the majority already prohibit,” while the headteachers’ union NAHT said a statutory rule would remove differences between schools’ policies. (news.sky.com) (independent.co.uk) The bill itself reaches beyond phones. Its long title covers child safeguarding, attendance, school inspections, internet access for children and guidance on “mobile phones and other interactive communication devices in schools.” (bills.parliament.uk) Support for a tougher rule has come from multiple unions, including NAHT, NASUWT and the National Education Union. Daniel Kebede of the National Education Union said in 2025 that a statutory ban could ease pressure on school leaders, teachers and parents. (news.sky.com) (uk.news.yahoo.com) Teachers who favor bans have also warned that enforcement can fall on classroom staff. In a Guardian comment article published April 22, English teacher Lola Okolosie said school phone rules can be “time-consuming” to enforce and “sometimes, dangerous.” (theguardian.com) The next step is whether ministers can turn a widely used school rule into a uniform legal one across England. If they do, the debate is likely to move from writing the ban into law to how schools police it every day. (bbc.com) (news.sky.com)
