Would Banning Phones in Schools Actually Help?

Technology is a curious beast when it comes to education. Whether we like it or not, tech has a clear place within our lives and stopping children and young people from using the likes of mobile phones and tablets will simply mean that they are left behind.

The likes of Artificial Intelligence is going to be a big part of how the world works moving forward, so trying to ignore it isn’t going to help those who will be in charge of companies and governments in the years to come.

That being said, tech can also be extremely disruptive, so would banning phones in school help kids get a better education?

What is Being Discussed

In the April of 2025, Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, said that we needed to adopt a ‘whole society’ approach if we are to stop young people from being negatively impacted by the use of mobile phones and other devices.

There is a tendency, research suggests, for children to ‘doom scroll’ on their phones that leads to poor mental health as well as a concern over online safety. With research showing that nearly a quarter of children end up spending more than four hours every day on internet-enabled devices, there is a real concern around what this means for young people.

@c4news The government is going to advise headteachers to ban mobile phones in schools in #England for the entire day, including break times. The Education Secretary said it’s because they’re a “source of distraction and bullying in the classroom.” What do you think about this decision? #schoolphoneban #ukschools #gilliankeegan #uknews #c4news ♬ original sound – Channel 4 News

Data revealed by schools showed that around 99.98% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools already have bans on mobile phone usage during the day, including forcing students to hand devices in when on school grounds. Around 10% of secondary schools did say that the use of a device such as a mobile phone in break times was okay.

The stats suggest that most schools are already implementing a mobile phone policy that aligns with the Department for Education’s guidance that is currently non-statutory, but some believe that it should become a country-wide law for phones to be banned in schools.

Not the Role of Government

The Children’s Commissioner is of the opinion that whether or not to ban phones is a decision that should be left up to headteachers. Dame Rachel spoke to the BBC and said that a blanket ban would be pointless given most schools already have mobile phone usage restrictions in place.

As a former headteacher herself, Dame Rachel fears that any government-imposed ban would not be much use if the people in charge of the schools didn’t really believe in it. There is also the problem that comes with parents not doing enough to stop their kids from using phones or putting boundaries in place around tech.

‘Most schools do have rules in place, but it would create a uniformity across the school system’@DanielKebedeNEU , General Secretary of the National Education Union, tells #BBCBreakfast he supports a ban on mobile phones in all schools pic.twitter.com/LvBZ6Y1GR2

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) April 10, 2025

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Dame Rachel said, “Parents have to remember they are not the friends of their children. They are there to protect their children and put boundaries around them.” One of the chief roles of schools, she believes, should be to educate young people about the risks associated with using internet-connected technology, especially when it comes to social media.

There is already an onus on social media companies to remove illegal material thanks to the Online Safety Act, with planned changes to the Act meaning that children will soon be prevented from other content online considered to be harmful.

Would it Make a Difference?

The most obvious question when it comes to any sort of a ban on mobile phone usage is whether or not it would actually make a difference anyway. In the February of 2025, the results of a study showed that banning mobile phones in schools actually had little to no impact on the behaviour of pupils, nor did it lead to increased grades.

The academics who carried out the study found that a student’s sleep didn’t improve nor did how long they spent on their phone overall simply because of the fact that they were banned from using such a device whilst on school grounds or in the classroom.

The doctor who led the study, Victoria Goodyear, was quick to point out that the findings weren’t against the idea of banning mobile phones in schools, but rather were there to point out that doing so in isolation might not have the impact that those calling for a ban are hoping for.

The study did also show that there is a link between long periods of time spent on social media and worse mental health, in addition to poor sleep and less physical activity. This was using the internationally accepted Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales in order to work out the mental wellbeing of the participants of the study.