support for headteachers or unnecessary legislation?
The announcement by the government that a legal ban will be placed on mobile phones in English schools marks a continued shift in tone, if not necessarily in substance, around the control of devices in educational settings. What is being presented as a decisive intervention into children’s wellbeing is, in practice, the legal amplification of a reality that already exists across most schools. According to research last year by the Children’s Commissioner, around 90% of secondary schools and almost all primary schools already restrict phone use in some form. These restrictions range from outright bans to locking phones away or “not seen, not heard” approaches (where phones are allowed on school premises, and may be kept in pupils’ bags, but must not be used). The ban will make existing guidance for schools statutory. This raises an immediate question: if the practice is already widespread, why make it law? There are, on the surface, reasonable arguments for moving from guidance to legislation. First, this gives school leaders clarity. A statutory footing removes ambiguity and may strengthen …
