Schools with complete mobile bans twice as likely to be rated outstanding, report finds

Schools that ban mobile phones completely are more than twice as likely to be rated outstanding, a study found.

The report by the Policy Exchange think tank found that children at secondary schools with a ban in place achieved GCSE results that were one or two grades higher compared with children at schools with less strict policies.

This was despite the fact that the schools with complete bans had a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals than schools with less restrictive policies.

The report called for all head teachers to implement effective and properly enforced bans – and for Ofsted to incorporate the latest evidence on phones in schools into its inspection framework.

In a foreword to the report, Prof Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist, said: “Phones must be locked up at the start of each school day in phone lockers or locked pouches, from which they are retrieved at the end of the day…

“We can give them six or seven hours each school day in which they can be fully present to learn, connect and flourish.”

He said the report’s greatest contribution was research demonstrating what is “actually happening” in schools.

“Most secondary schools say that they have some sort of ban in place on the use of mobile phones, but, as this report shows, only 13 per cent of schools in England and Wales actually separate students from their phones for the duration of the school day.”

Implement effective bans

Policy Exchange submitted freedom of information requests to 800 primary and secondary schools across the UK. It found that while the vast majority of primary schools had total bans, only 11 per cent of secondary schools had them.

Others allow the devices to be used at break or lunch times, or permit pupils to keep their mobiles with them.

The think tank is calling on head teachers to implement effective bans on mobile phones. They say this should involve phones being handed in or stored in lockers, Yondr pouches, or equivalent, at the beginning of each day, or alternatively banned from site.

Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairman of the Commons culture select committee, said: “The consensus on teenage mobile phone use is changing, and Policy Exchange are at the forefront of that change. The data collected in this report delivers a stark message to policymakers: mobile phones disrupt education and worsen educational outcomes.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Calling for a ban on mobile phones in schools is treading old ground. Schools already have robust policies in place regarding smartphones – either banning their use entirely during the school day or allowing their use only at limited times and strictly controlled circumstances.

“The problem with smartphones relates largely to their use outside school and this is where issues such as cyberbullying and accessing inappropriate content tend to happen.

“What we need is better regulation of online platforms and improved mental health support for young people who are affected by issues which are exacerbated by smartphones.

“What we don’t need is more reports about banning phones in schools.”