Tories to push for school smartphone ban to be added to education Bill

The Tories will push for a ban on smartphones in schools to be included in the Government’s education Bill.

The Conservatives are tabling an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to end the use of mobile phones and other devices during school days by pupils.

It is understood that the Labour Government has no plans to legislate on banning phones in schools, and the Department for Education said schools are already able to decide how to prohibit the use of phones.

Under former prime minister Rishi Sunak, the then-Conservative government issued non-statutory guidance to schools in England intended to stop the use of mobile phones during break and lunch periods in schools, as well as in lessons.

The Tories are now tabling an amendment to a Labour Bill in a bid to stop pupils using mobile phones and devices during the school day.

It would mandate that all schools in England put a policy in place that applies from the start of the day’s first lesson to the end of the last.

Schools would decide how to implement the ban and there would be flexibility for sixth forms and residential or boarding schools.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “We have a growing understanding of how damaging phones and social media are on our children’s education.

“That’s why we believe that smartphones in schools should be banned during the school day.

“This is the right thing for parents, teachers and children, and I hope Labour will back it.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said the Bill would be a “seminal moment” for children and that there is already clear guidance for schools on mobile phones.

The spokesperson said: “The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will be a seminal moment for the safety and success of our children, from new safeguards around home education to breakfast clubs in every primary school to set children up to learn.

“There is already clear government guidance which helps headteachers to decide how best to prohibit phones in a way that will work in their own schools. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices.”

The Conservatives used an attempt to block the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill earlier this month to force a vote on calls for a new inquiry into grooming gangs.

This week Kemi Badenoch raised concerns over the Bill’s impact on academy freedoms, including on teacher recruitment and pay.

The new Bill would ensure all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework, whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.

The Bill also includes measures allowing councils to open new schools which are not academies, and it will end the forced academisation of schools run by local authorities which are identified as a concern by Ofsted.