Mobile phones in schools: Mandating a ban?

Approximate read time: 20 minutes

On 28 November 2024 the House of Lords is due to debate the following motion:

Baroness Kidron (Crossbench) to move that this House takes note of the increasing interest in mandating that schools be mobile phone free.

1.  Evidence on the impact of mobile phones in schools

1.1  Impact of mobile phones in schools on learning and attainment

Research suggests that the use of mobile phones in a classroom or study context has the potential to be distracting for the individual student. This reflects the challenges of multitasking on the phone, or between the phone and different tasks, and fear of missing out on messages and notifications.^[1] This has led to bodies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to urge that mobile phones should only be used in schools when they clearly support learning objectives.^[2]

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) programme of international student assessment (PISA) found that on average two-thirds of 15-year-olds across OECD countries reported being distracted using digital devices, including phones, in most or every maths class. In addition, around 60% of pupils got distracted by other pupils using digital devices.^[3]

The PISA data also showed a “tangible” association between the use of digital devices in schools and learning outcomes. Students who reported being distracted by peers using digital devices in some, most or every maths class scored significantly lower in maths tests, equivalent to three-quarters of a year’s worth of education.

Other studies have found that the use of smartphones in classrooms leads to students engaging in non-school-related activities, which adversely affects recall and comprehension.^[4] One study found that it can take students up to 20 minutes to refocus on what they were learning after engaging in a non-academic activity.^[5]

Another study concluded that even a switched-off phone reduced cognitive capacity by occupying limited-capacity cognitive resources. In the authors’ view:

Because the same finite pool of attentional resources supports both attentional control and other cognitive processes, resources recruited to inhibit automatic attention to one’s phone are made unavailable for other tasks, and performance on these tasks will suffer.^[6]

Surveys of school-age children have pointed to social media, which is often accessed via mobile phones, having an adverse effect on learning ability. In a survey of over 3,000 children and young people from 21 schools undertaken by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in 2019, over 45% thought social media had either a “somewhat” or “mostly” negative impact on their concentration, although 30% thought it had no impact at all.^[7]

The Department for Education’s (DfE) most recent national behaviour survey, published in April 2024, found that 20% of secondary school pupils said that mobile phones were used in most lessons without permission.^[8]

However, there are only a small number of studies examining the association between school bans on mobile phones and educational attainment.^[9] Some of those studies found that banning mobile phones in school lessons had a positive impact on students’ performance. One such study from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2015 concluded that banning mobile phones from schools had the equivalent effect of giving pupils an extra week’s education over the course of an academic year, or increasing the school year by five days.^[10]

The study surveyed the test scores of secondary schools in Birmingham, Leicester, London and Manchester before and after phone bans were introduced. It found test scores increased by more than six percentage points in those schools which banned phones, so long as there was wide compliance. The test scores of low-achieving and low-income students improved the most, while high-achieving students were neither positively nor negatively affected by a phone ban. In the authors’ view, banning mobile phones could therefore be a low-cost way for schools to reduce educational inequality.

A more recent study from Spain also found that bans on mobile phones in schools were associated with improved grades.^[11] The authors found positive impacts on test scores from phone bans, equivalent to 0.6–0.8 years of learning in maths and 0.72 to almost one year of learning in sciences.

1.2 Caveats to evidence that phones in schools adversely affect learning and attainment

Not all studies exploring the impact of mobile phone bans in schools have found an association between bans and improved educational attainment. One study from Sweden in 2020 found no effect on student performance.^[12]

The authors of the 2015 LSE research acknowledged some caveats to their findings. In written evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in October 2018, Professor Richard Murphy, one of the authors of the LSE report, said:

This research is only showing the impact of banning phones in schools that chose to ban phones. Therefore, the first caveat is that these schools may be the schools that had the most problems with phones, and schools that didn’t have a problem with phones would obviously not then see an improvement in test scores. The second is that our findings do not discount the possibility that mobile phones could be useful in schools if their use is properly structured. But none of the schools in our survey did that so it couldn’t be tested.^[13]

Meanwhile, evidence of the adverse learning effect of mobile phones provided by OECD PISA student distraction data has been queried. Researchers at King’s College London found that when gender, social class and school behaviour were controlled for, PISA data showed that students in schools with phone bans actually had lower achievement across their PISA test scores than those in schools that allowed phone use.^[14] In the authors’ view, “when considering a mobile phone ban, the relationship between a range of variables—not just student distraction—should be investigated to support policymakers in deciding to implement phone bans in schools”.

1.3 Other potential consequences of mobile phones in schools

According to the Scottish government’s 2023 behaviour in Scottish schools research report, the abusive use of mobile phones and digital technologies was one of the most frequently experienced serious disruptive behaviours observed or experienced by secondary school staff.^[15] This included pupils using mobile phones to bully or harass other pupils and staff and filming incidents with footage then posted on social media.

Survey evidence from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that one in five children in England and Wales have experienced online bullying.^[16] Nearly three out of four children (72%) who had experienced online bullying behaviour experienced at least some of it at school or during school time.

1.4 Arguments against a ban on mobile phones in schools

Some researchers argue that a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools may not be the right approach. For example, Paul Howard-Jones, a professor of neuroscience and education at the University of Bristol, argues that schools have an important role in helping pupils learn when to use their phones. According to Professor Howard-Jones:

If school and education is about preparing us for that world, then learning how to use your mobile phone—when it’s appropriate, when it’s not appropriate, is a very important part of that. Children need to learn to self-regulate. They’re not being given the opportunity to do that if their phones are taken away at the start of the day.^[17]

The risk that bans might prove counter-productive has also been highlighted. Giving evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in 2018, Sarah Hannafin, senior policy adviser at the National Association of Head Teachers, said:

[…] we know that those school leaders are talking about how mobile phones and social media are an integral part of everyone’s life. They want to encourage responsible use and create a culture, including in school, about how and when those phones and that content is accessed and used. A member I spoke to who has a policy like that said that, for him and the schools in his trust, a ban could make things worse. It could push things underground, and mobile phone use might then become secretive and not open, discussed and challenged. It could actually become a bigger problem.^[18]

Whether banning phones in schools is effective has been questioned. According to OECD PISA data, even in schools with phone bans, 29% of students reported using smartphones several times a day (on average across the OECD), with 21% using one every day or almost every day at school.^[19] Some teachers’ unions in the UK have argued that a ban would be impractical. In the opinion of Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), a blanket ban would be “unenforceable” and would make ‘the behaviour crisis worse, not better”.^[20]

PISA data also suggests some potentially adverse consequences from banning phones in schools on students’ digital behaviour outside of school. In several OECD countries where bans on phones in schools are in place, students were found to be less likely to turn off notifications from social networks and apps on their digital devices when going to sleep. Consequently, in the OECD’s view, “the data suggest that even in schools with bans, students may struggle to adopt responsible behaviour regarding phone use”.^[21] In the opinion of Jonathan Haidt, the US social psychologist and author of the book ‘The Anxious Generation’, a ban on phone use limited to class time is “nearly useless”.^[22] The author has wider concerns about the use of mobile phones by young people, arguing that the widespread adoption of smartphones has resulted in social derivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation and addiction.

1.5 Potential positives from mobile phones in schools

Some teachers and educationalists believe mobile phones may be a positive for children’s education. For example, in response to calls by then Education Minister Nick Gibb in 2019 to ban pupils from taking smartphones into school, Patsy Kane, executive head teacher at the Education and Leadership Trust in Manchester, said a ban was “missing the point on just how fantastically useful mobile phones can be for learning […] There’s a fantastic range of apps now for revision—and the students are really motivated to use them”.^[23]

Other researchers point to potential positives from allowing mobile phones in schools.^[24] These include:

• Digital learning. Mobile phones may enhance a child’s education if they are used in the right way. For example, certain apps and games can all be used to teach topics and encourage creative thinking. These methods may be particularly beneficial for those with special educational needs.
• Research in lessons. Mobile phones offer students access to the internet and online information. Phones can be used in the classroom to support learning by using them as a research tool when doing projects or coursework.^[25]
• Medical reasons. Some children need access to their mobile phone to support their health, such as to keep track of their medicine schedule or monitor their diabetes.
• Internal communication. Mobile phones enable a quick and easy way for the school to communicate information to students, including changes to schedules, health and safety information or weekly notices. This information can be emailed or texted to each child and reduces the need for paper letters.
• Caring responsibilities. Young carers are likely to need regular contact with the family member they care for in case of emergency, so having a mobile phone in the classroom enables them to be contactable at all times.

2.  Current situation regarding mobile phones in schools

2.1  Ownership of mobile phones by young people

In 2023, Ofcom reported that 26% of five to seven-year-olds, 61% of eight to 11-year-olds and 96% of 12 to 15-year-olds had their own mobile phone.^[26]

2.2  Government policy on mobile phones in schools

The possibility of mobile phone bans in schools has been brought up by government ministers several times in recent years. For example, introducing national restrictions on phone usage was suggested by then Schools Minister Nick Gibb in 2019.^[27] In 2021, Gavin Williamson, who was education secretary at the time, said he favoured a ban, arguing that “mobile phones should not be used or seen during the school day”.^[28]

In February 2022, the DfE said blanket national rules were not necessary because most schools were already enforcing mobile phone bans without formal guidance.^[29]

Subsequently, in February 2024, the DfE issued guidance for schools in England on how and why they should prohibit the use of mobile phones in school. The guidance was non-statutory and did not call for an outright ban of mobile phones in schools, but it did discourage their use.^[30]

In October 2024, the Labour government endorsed continuing the approach set out in the earlier guidance. Education Minister Stephen Morgan said:

The department knows that using mobile phones in schools can lead to online bullying, distraction and classroom disruption, which can lead to lost learning time, while research also suggests that excessive screentime can have a negative impact on children’s wellbeing.

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. In February 2024, the department published non-statutory guidance for schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime. As has been the longstanding policy of successive governments, headteachers remain responsible for deciding how they choose to implement this policy, including choosing to prohibit children from bringing mobile phones on site entirely.^[31]

The Scottish government issued guidance on the use of mobiles in schools in August 2024.^[32] It concluded that a national ban was not “appropriate or feasible” but said schools and councils could “introduce restrictions and limitations” if they wished.

In September 2024, Northern Ireland’s Department of Education issued guidance recommending that pupils do not use their mobile phones during the school day and that phones should not in normal circumstances be brought into primary schools.^[33]

2.3  Schools’ policy on mobile phones

Across the UK, it is currently the responsibility of individual schools to determine whether mobile phones are allowed on school premises.

A DfE school snapshot survey completed in late 2019 found that among secondary schools, 16% had outright bans, 33% had strict non-use policies and 48% permitted regulated use at specified points in the school day (3% did not respond to the survey).^[34] In primary schools, 16% had outright bans, 59% had strict non-use policies, 2% permitted regulated use and the remaining respondents said this was not an issue as the pupils were too young.

Further recent evidence from Teacher Tapp, an app that conducts daily surveys of over 10,000 teachers, suggests that, as of early 2024, the vast majority of schools had policies limiting the use of phones in lessons, with primary schools having more restrictive rules than secondary schools.^[35] As figure 1 shows, 62% of secondary schools had rules in place which meant teachers should never see phones. Almost no schools (less than 1% of those surveyed) had policies which allowed students to use phones whenever they liked.

Figure 1: Teachers’ survey responses on the use of mobile phones in schools

According to teachers surveyed by Teacher Tapp, primary schools have become more accepting of phones over time. The proportion of primary schools banning phones from school grounds has fallen by 7 percentage points since 2018, although the proportion collecting them at the start of the day and giving them back at the end has risen 10 percentage points in the same period. This suggests that primary schools have accepted parents wanting their children to have phones on the way to and from school, but still do not want them used at school.

In contrast, secondary schools have become more restrictive. The proportion of schools banning the use of phones at all times of the school day rose from 39% in 2018 to 48% in early 2024, while the proportion collecting phones at the start of the day increased from 3% to 9%.

2.4 Recent parliamentary activity on mobile phones in schools

On 17 October 2024, Josh MacAllister, Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington, introduced a private member’s bill in the House of Commons, the Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill, after he came fifth in the private members’ bill ballot.^[36] The stated aim of the bill is to tackle addictive phone use in children, including introducing a legal requirement that schools are phone-free.^[37] The bill’s second reading is provisionally scheduled to take place on 7 March 2025.

The government has ruled out backing Mr MacAllister’s proposal to legally mandate phone-free schools. The prime minister’s official spokesman said that “headteachers already have the power to ban phones in school and many have chosen to exercise this right. So we don’t have plans to legislate in that particular area”.^[38]

2.5 Public opinion on mobile phones in schools

According to a poll conducted by Ipsos in September 2024, almost half the UK public believe there should be a total ban on smartphones in schools.^[39] Of the 2,175 adults surveyed, 48% supported banning mobile phones in school buildings altogether, while 7% said they supported asking students to deposit their phones in a basket during class.

Of those who responded to the survey, 30% said they believed 11 to 12 years old was the most acceptable age for a child to be given a smartphone, while 28% said ages 13 to 14 was more appropriate. When asked about what measures parents had considered for their own children:

• two in 10 (22%) have told their child(ren) not to bring their smartphone to school
• 14% have confiscated their child(ren)’s smartphone to prevent them from bringing it to school
• 13% have given their child(ren) a mobile phone that isn’t a smartphone to bring to school
• a majority of parents (55%) said that their child’s school does not currently have a full smartphone ban in place

3.  Policies on mobile phones in schools in other countries

3.1 Global prevalence of mobile phone bans in schools

According to UNESCO, as of 2022, almost one in four countries had introduced bans on mobile phones in schools in laws or policies.^[40] It said that 13% of countries had bans enshrined in law and 14% used non-statutory policies or guidance.

3.2 Country examples of approaches to mobile phones in schools

In the Netherlands, a mobile phone ban was implemented in secondary schools from 1 January 2024. The ban was widened to include primary schools from September 2024. The Dutch mobile phone ban is non-statutory and schools can make their own arrangements with teachers, students and parents on how to implement the ban.^[41]

In 2021, China’s Ministry of Education announced that pupils would not be allowed to bring mobiles to school without written parental consent.^[42] The rationale given was to protect young people’s eyesight, improve their concentration and prevent internet addiction.

In France, the law has prevented children up to the age of 15 from using their phones inside school grounds since September 2018, with exceptions for certain groups of students (for example those with disabilities) or when smartphones are used for teaching purposes.^[43]

In the US, at least 18 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict students’ use of phones in schools.^[44]

However, the direction of travel internationally has not been solely towards restrictions or bans on phones in schools. In March 2015, then New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lifted a 10-year outright ban on phones on school premises. In his view, the end of the ban would better enable parents to stay in touch with their children and had the potential to reduce inequality.^[45] According to the official website of the city of New York, the ban had been enforced mostly at schools with metal detectors in low-income communities, while students required to leave their phones outside school buildings often incurred a daily charge for private storage that could cost a family on average $180 each year. However, current Mayor Eric Adams has recently considered reintroducing restrictions.^[46]

4. Further reading

• House of Commons Education Committee, ‘Screen time: Impacts on education and wellbeing’, 25 May 2024, HC 118 of session 2023–24; and Inquiry: Screen time—impacts on education and wellbeing, accessed 20 November 2024
• Debate on ‘Smartphones and social media: Children’, HC Hansard, 14 May 2024, cols 51–77WH
• Laura Hughes, ‘Should smartphones be banned in schools?’, Financial Times (£), 12 November 2024
• Louise Petty, ‘Mobile phones in schools debate: Advantages and disadvantages’, High Speed Training, 8 November 2024
• Patti Waldmeir, ‘Pressure to ban mobile phones in America’s schools intensifies’, Financial Times (£), 19 August 2024
• Katie Wright, ‘To ban or not to ban: Should phones be allowed in schools?’, BBC

Cover image by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash