Government pushed to enforce smartphone bans in UK schools

The government is under pressure from MPs to introduce a statutory ban on smartphones in UK schools, allowing schools to stand up to parents who challenge their phone bans.

This follows the government’s recent response to the 2024 Screen Time report, which recommended several major changes aimed at reducing the harm caused to children by excessive screen time.

In its response, the government said a statutory ban on smartphones in UK schools would be unnecessary, as schools currently have the discretion to impose a ban on smartphones in line with non-statuatory guidance published by the government.

The Education Committee has slammed this response as ‘disappointing’, arguing that a statutory ban should be introduced to give schools the legal backing to stand up to children and parents who challenge the banning of smartphones during school hours.

“The sheer weight of evidence heard during the previous Education Committee’s inquiry was damning. Its cross-party members were unequivocal in their concern for the effects that over-exposure to screens and to social media – with the abundance of unchecked harmful, disturbing content that inhabits some platforms – can both have on children’s wellbeing,” said Education Committee Chair and Labour MP Helen Hayes.

“This response from the Government is disappointing in its lack of urgency to tackle an issue that is almost universally understood to be a defining issue of our time by parents, carers and people from across the education and care sectors,”

“The argument that most schools already ban phones misses the point that school staff would have a backstop, an added line of defence, if the law was on their side when facing challenge from parents or students,” she said.

The Committee also argued that the government should take stronger action on raising and enforcing the digital age of consent, which the report recommended be increased to 16 years old.

“Like our predecessor Committee, we believe the Government should act on the mass of strong correlatory evidence between screen time and harm,” Hayes said.

“Further delay will be to the continued detriment of children’s mental health, development, and education.”

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