The Conversation Stamford responds to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s comments on smartphones in schools

Campaigners calling to limit children’s use of smartphones have supported plans to ban them from schools but say more needs to be done.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (Lab) told school and college leaders at a conference on Friday last week (March 14) that they have the Government’s full backing on removing disruptive phones from classrooms.

She said: “You know, we all know, that phones are disruptive, distracting, bad for behaviour. They have no place in our schools.

“And the Government’s position is clear, you have our full backing in ridding our classrooms of the disruption of phones.

“I know that will be the case in the overwhelming majority of all classrooms, but I expect it to be true in all classrooms.

“So I tasked my officials to look at how we can more effectively monitor what’s happening on the ground.”

Schools in England were given non-statutory guidance under the former Conservative government in February last year intended to stop the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Educators from The Conversation Stamford are currently running a Cyberwise campaign with the aim of protecting young people’s emotional wellbeing.

They are asking parents to sign a pledge committing to three things - no smartphones for primary aged children, no social media for under 13s and the use of parental controls until the age of 16.

Sarah Jane Sauntson, director of The Conversation Stamford, said: “We agree that smartphones have no place in schools but that’s only part of the problem.

“Banning smartphones in schools won’t address all the issues if there’s not a change with how we engage with smartphones at home.

“I think absolutely children need to learn how to navigate the digital world for all its good but there needs to be legislative change from schools and more restrictions on the social media companies. They have free reign and no one can touch them.

“There needs to be pressure on mobile phone companies to create better devices and have more options. Currently it’s all or nothing - it's either a smartphone that functions like a computer or something not performing what you need it to.”

At the beginning of the school year, Stamford School introduced a policy preventing pupils aged 11 to 16 from using smartphones.

They are still able to bring phones to school but have to place devices into individual pouches that they carry around with them. The pouches lock at the start of the day and unlock at the end.

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