Schools must fully ban phones all day and they can’t be used as calculators, Phillipson tells heads

Bridget Phillipson has demanded schools should completely ban phones all day and stop pupils using them as calculators.

In a letter to every head in England, the Education Secretary said children should even stay away from breaks to have a completely phone-free day.

He said schools would be assessed by Ofsted on their ability to remain phone-free, and teachers should also not use them in front of students.

Similar guidance was published by the Conservatives in 2024 but Ms Phillipson said it ‘did not provide the clarity or consistency that schools needed’.

The letter said: ‘All schools should be phone-free environments throughout the entire school day. It is not appropriate to use phones as calculators or for research purposes during classes.

‘Schools must ensure these policies are applied consistently across classes and at all times, and we want parents to support these policies too.’

But shadow education secretary Laura Trott said the letter was “further guidance” and said it “does not represent action, just further delay”.

He said of X: ‘It is clear that these changes to smartphone policy are nothing more than the status quo.’

Conservatives are currently pushing for new legislation to make smartphones illegal in schools.

The new smartphone policy is included in updated guidance sent to schools last week.

Ministers also recently announced a three-month consultation on banning social media for all under-16s in the UK.

In November, a Government poll of heads found that only nine per cent of secondary schools delivered phones to pupils throughout the school day, while only five per cent had banned phones altogether.

The vast majority (75 percent) said students could keep their phones with them but not use them.

Teachers have previously said such rules are difficult to enforce because it is impossible to monitor every child at all times.

Today, Tony McCabe, headteacher at St Joseph’s High School in Horwich, Greater Manchester, said he welcomed the guidance because phones could be ‘so disruptive for young people throughout the school day’.

He told BBC Breakfast that he had already banned phones at his school because children’s screen time was “incredibly excessive”.

Esther Ghey, whose daughter Brianna was murdered by two teenagers who viewed violent content online, said the guidance was “a step in the right direction” but argued it did not go far enough.

National Education Union General Secretary Daniel Kebede said he ‘agreed with the Conservatives’ on the need for a legal ban.

He said: ‘Schools’ policies may mean they come into conflict with parents or young people about how things are implemented, so putting this on a legal basis would be welcome.’

The decision comes as campaigners claim a judicial review against the Government’s decision not to make smartphones illegal in schools.

Among them was 17-year-old Flossie McShea, who said she was exposed to phone videos of porn, beheadings and a child being murdered at school.

Sir Keir Starmer has previously said a new law is unnecessary because ‘almost every school bans phones in school’. They already do’.