Britons are being asked their thoughts about banning mobile phones in schools after government ministers gave headteachers more power to restrict their usage in the classroom.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan unveiled new Department for Education guidance which she says would give teachers the tools to ‘take action to help improve behaviour’. But do you agree with Ms Keegan’s move?
is asking our readers their thoughts on this prospect with a simple Yes or No answer.
The guidance, which is non-statutory, instructs headteachers on how to ban the use of phones not only during lessons but during break and lunch periods as well.
It consists of four different policies that schools can adopt to enforce it, including banning phones from the school premises, handing in phones on arrival at school, and keeping phones securely locked away at school.
The document notes ‘headteachers can and should identify mobile phones and similar devices as something that may be searched for in their school behaviour policy’.
A fourth option allows pupils to keep hold of their phones, provided they are never used, seen or heard. Almost all children – 97 per cent – now have mobile phones by the age of 12, according to Ofcom.
In England, it is currently up to individual heads to decide their own policies on mobile phones and whether they should be banned.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan (pictured) unveiled the new rules on Monday in the form of guidance
In England, it is currently up to individual heads to decide their own policies on mobile phones
In a foreword to the document, Ms Keegan said it would provide ‘clarity and consistency’ for teachers and that there is currently ‘a large variation in how different schools are managing the use of mobile phones’.
In a statement, she went on: ‘Schools are places for children to learn and mobile phones are, at a minimum, an unwanted distraction in the classroom.’
Tom Bennet, who advises the Department for Education on behaviour, said: ‘Mobile phones may be ubiquitous, but we have a strong and growing understanding of how damaging they can be for a child’s social and educational development.
‘And it’s the least advantaged who suffer most. Many schools already have some kind of policy on phones, but this guidance provides a clear steer for everyone, including parents, about what’s right and what’s not for the wellbeing of the child.
The Government pointed to recent official data that showed 29 percent of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used when not supposed to.
But the Association of School and College Leaders said it did not expect the new guidance to make any discernible impact.
General Secretary Geoff Barton said that the ‘compulsive use’ of devices was not happening in schools but ‘while children are out of school’.
Gillian Keegan said it would provide ‘clarity and consistency’ for teachers
He said: ‘Most schools already forbid the use of mobile phones during the school day or allow their use only in limited and stipulated circumstances.
‘We have lost count of the number of times that ministers have now announced a crackdown on mobile phones in schools. It is a non-policy for a non-problem.
‘The Government would be far better off putting its energies into bringing to heel the online platforms via which children are able to access disturbing and extreme content.’