England’s Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has reportedly written to headteachers, advocating for schools to be entirely phone-free throughout the school day.
In the letter, reportedly seen by the BBC and The Times, Ms Phillipson stated it was “not appropriate for phones to be used as calculators, or for research” at any time, both inside and outside of class.
Last week, the government issued updated guidance around phone use in schools, stressing pupils “should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons”.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said it will also be taking immediate action on children’s social media use, including directing Ofsted to examine schools’ mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented during inspections.
“Schools should make sure those policies are applied consistently across classes and at all times and we want parents to back these policies too,” Ms Phillipson said in her letter.
Teachers have also been advised not to use their phones in front of pupils.
According to data supplied by the DSIT, 99.9% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools have mobile phone policies in place.
However, 58% of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used without permission in at least some lessons, rising to 65% for key stage four pupils.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told the BBC school leaders “need support from government, not the threat of heavy-handed inspection”.
It follows ministers launching a consultation on implementing an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s in the UK.
The consultation will look at options including raising the digital age of consent and restricting potentially addictive app design features such as “streaks” and “infinite scrolling”.
Ministers will visit Australia as part of the consultation, where a social media ban for under-16s came into force in December.
The Government will seek views from parents and young people and will respond in the summer, DSIT said.
