Pupils in England will not be allowed to keep mobile phones on them during the school day under tighter government guidance due from September 2027, the BBC reported¹.

Statutory guidance that took effect in June already makes schools and trusts legally responsible for being phone-free throughout the day, the report said¹.

Ministers said the changes would go beyond "no see, no hear" policies that let phones stay in bags if they are not seen or heard¹.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the government's message was that "school is for learning and friendship, not scrolling"¹.

The government said phone access risks pulling children away from learning and from each other, according to the BBC¹.

Schools will still decide how to follow the guidance, including sealed pouches, lockers, collecting phones at the start of the day, or banning them from sites¹.

Paul Whiteman of the NAHT school leaders union said phones can raise safety issues and be a distraction, but that more robust measures would come at a cost¹.

Pepe Di'Iasio of the Association of School and College Leaders said leaders "cannot simply make mobile phones disappear" and that lockable storage for every pupil would be a significant cost without extra funding¹.

Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and campaign group Generation Focus welcomed stronger limits; Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott said Labour had agreed to ban smartphones in schools but criticised mixed messages on classroom technology¹.

Education is devolved: Scotland has consulted on restricting personal phone use in schools, Wales's Senedd voted against a national statutory classroom ban, and Northern Ireland opened a consultation in August on a legal ban, the BBC said¹.

The school-day rules are separate from a planned U.K. ban on social media for under-16s due in March, the report said¹.

Sources

1. BBCPhones to be banned from pupils' bags or pockets under stricter rules for schools in England5:51 PM

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