‘Phones have no place in schools’

New legislation has banned the use of phones in schools to eliminate distractions.

As thousands of Hampshire students head back to school today (September 3), they will be faced with some changes regarding the use of their mobile phones after a legal ban came into effect on June 26. The restriction, which involved an amendment in the House of Lords to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, has been put in place to remove distractions from the classroom and improve student mental health.

A spokesperson for the DfE said: “We have been consistently clear that mobile phones have no place in schools, and the majority already prohibit them.

“This amendment makes existing guidance statutory, giving legal force to what schools are already doing in practice. We will always put children’s interests first, including through this Bill – which is widely recognised as the biggest piece of child safeguarding legislation in decades, with critical measures like laws to crack down on profiteering in children’s social care and a new unique identifier to stop children falling through the cracks.”

Current guidance says schools will be required to remove devices from the classroom but no definitive way in which this should be enforced has been outlined. Many schools are going down the route of using secure lockers so students can still have access to their phoens when going to and from school for safety purposes. One school in the area has taken to social media to reiterate the restrictions and have said students must hand their phones in to their tutor at the start of the day where they will be securely stored.

The ban also explains that there are exemptions, and students with certain medical conditions will be allowed to use their phone if essential.