Ban on phones in schools backed by House of Lords

"A ban on students using mobile phones during the school day has been backed by the House of Lords. A Tory amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill passed with 178 votes to 140, and comes just weeks after opposition peers supported legislation to ban under-16s in the UK from social media platforms. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has previously advised schools that they should be phone-free during school hours, but the guidance lacks legal force."

"We need to reset our own and our children's relationship with smartphones and social media, as smartphones are so often the gateway drug to social media. The flexibility inherent in the new guidance from the government is portrayed positively as giving schools and communities discretion to adopt an approach that suits them best, but the reality for many school heads is that it is the exercise of that discretion that's difficult, and it leaves schools facing off against pupils and parents."

House of Lords voted to back a ban on students using mobile phones during the school day through a Tory amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The amendment passed 178 to 140, following recent moves by peers to support banning under-16s from social media. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had issued non-statutory guidance urging phone-free school hours and later updated it to require schools to be phone-free for the entire day, including breaktimes and lunchtimes. Ofsted will inspect schools' mobile phone policy implementation, and teachers are advised not to use phones in front of pupils. The bill will return to MPs for further consideration.

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