NEW GUIDANCE was issued this week regarding the prohibition of mobile phones in schools across England.
The advice comes as part of the Government’s plan to minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms across the country.
Many schools already ban the use of mobile phones but, the Government hopes, this will help provide a ‘consistent approach’.
Statistics from Ofcom show, by the age of 12, 97 per cent of children have their own mobile phone.
Research has also showed the use of mobile phones in schools can lead to online bullying, distraction and classroom disruption which, in turn, can lead to lost learning time.
Last year, Unesco called for smartphones to be banned from schools as evidence showed it was linked to reduced educational performance and that excessive screen time had a negative impact on children’s wellbeing.
Schools will be supported to prohibit mobile phone use with examples of different approaches including banning phones from the school premises, handing in phones on arrival at school, and keeping phones securely locked away at school.
The guidance will respond to concerns from parents about mobile phones.
The latest data from ParentKind’s National Parent Survey, reveals 44 per cent of parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend on electronic devices, rising to 50 per cent of parents of secondary school children.
The Government says ‘driving high expectations of behaviour in schools’ is one of its priorities, building on our £10million investment in Behaviour Hubs which will support up to 700 schools over three years, alongside existing Behaviour in Schools guidance.
The guidance builds on the work which, the Government adds, has delivered 89 per cent of schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted – up from 68 per cent in 2010.
It said England had catapulted up the international rankings for academic attainment through our multimillion-pound maths and English hubs programme and phonics screening check.
“We are now one of the top performing countries in the Western world for maths and reading and the Government will continue to build on this progress by delivering crucial reforms including by creating the Advanced British Standard.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Schools are places for children to learn and mobile phones are, at a minimum, an unwanted distraction in the classroom.
“We are giving our hard-working teachers the tools to take action to help improve behaviour and to allow them to do what they do best – teach.”
Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “Growing up in today’s digital world provides immense opportunities but this should not come at the expense of our children’s wellbeing or education.
“That is why we have passed world leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world for young people to be online.
She added the latest announcement would ‘support parents and educators further, helping give the next generation the best chance to realise their potential’.
Lead behaviour advisor to the Department Tom Bennett said headteachers needed to know they would be backed in their attempt to build safe and nurturing cultures and could find advice about how to make schools a phone-free environment.
And chief executive of Parentkind Jason Elsom said its own research also showed more than three quarters of parents supported a ban on phones in schools.
“This is the number one concern for parents, according to the National Parent Survey.
“Society has sleepwalked into a position where children are addicted to harmful ‘electronic drugs’, and have no-escape from their digital dealers, not even within the relatively safe grounds of their schools.”
