Labour sets out plans for 'truly phone-free' classrooms

Labour will set out plans to encourage "truly phone-free" classrooms to ensure pupils are free from distractions.

The Department for Education (DfE) will issue strengthened guidance to encourage schools to adopt effective policies to make sure phones are inaccessible to young people throughout the school day.

Existing guidance, which came into effect in September, calls for schools in England to operate as "mobile phone-free environments by default", but it does not explicitly set out how they should enforce the ban.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell stressed that school was for learning and friendship - "not scrolling" - as she laid out her plans.

But headteachers' unions have warned that schools would struggle to implement the guidance without additional funding.

Some schools now require lockable pouches or secure storage for pupils' phones.

Others collect phones at the beginning of the day, or ban them from campus entirely.

But just 16 per cent of pupils say phone rules are followed all the time, according to a DfE survey carried out in June.

Ms Powell said: "Children should not be using smartphones at any point during the school day, full stop.

"That's why we're strengthening our guidance to take the next leap towards truly phone-free schools.

"Schools are already leading the way.

"We're backing heads and teachers with a clear message for parents and pupils: school is for learning and friendship, not scrolling."

Headteachers' unions said if more robust measures such as lockable pouches or dedicated storage lockers were mandated, additional funding would have to be provided.

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Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "Schools will need time to develop a new policy that works in their setting.

"If all schools are going to be expected to have lockable pouches or other secure storage facilities for every pupil, the cost involved will be very significant indeed.

"This is not feasible unless the Government puts in the funding required to meet these costs."

And Paul Whiteman, General Secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said that if schools would need "access to additional funding and support" to implement all the changes in the guidance.

The DfE is also launching a consultation to explore independent safety certification for "EdTech" to give parents and schools confidence that education technology being used in schools is safe.

More than 150 clinicians warned of a "crisis" in children's physical and developmental health linked to screen-based learning.

And last week, Education Minister Paul Waugh said there was a "wild west" of education technology products in the country.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: "I am delighted that Labour has finally listened to us and agreed to properly ban smartphones in schools."

She also welcomed the review into education technology, but criticised a lack of "joined up thinking" over what was allowed in classrooms.

Young people under-16 will be banned from using social media in March.

Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, said on Sunday that online marketplaces such as eBay, Vinted, Depop, and Facebook Marketplace could be included in the ban.