A teaching union leader has cautioned that proposals to impose a general ban on students using mobile phones in schools across England are “unenforceable.”
According to reports, the government would instruct principals to forbid students from using gadgets during class hours.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is expected to set out the plans at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Monday afternoon.
A source told the Daily Mail that Ms Keegan believes mobile phones “pose a serious challenge in terms of distraction, disruptive behaviour and bullying”.
In England, it is currently up to individual school leaders to decide their own policies on mobile phones and whether they should be banned.
Many schools already require students to store their phones in lockers when they arrive, while other schools permit students to keep their phones in their bags.
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However, it is believed that the Department for Education (DfE) intends to release new recommendations for English schools that will encourage them to forbid students from using phones in classrooms and during breaks.
The general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, Patrick Roach, responded to the reports by saying: “If the Government introduces blanket bans that are unenforceable, this will make the behavior crisis worse, not better.”
A recent survey by the NASUWT of its members in the UK on behaviour suggested that teachers’ biggest concerns were verbal and physical abuse.
The majority of teachers surveyed suggested that poor social skills following Covid-19 restrictions had affected pupil behaviour – and a smaller number of teachers reported that mobile phones caused behavioural issues in class.
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Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the announcement could present a “big challenge” for schools.
He said: “We are not sure how it would work in practice and how it could be successfully implemented in a wide range of schools.
Downing Street has suggested that the Government could eventually legislate to prevent schoolchildren from using mobile phones in class.
The announcement of a ‘mobile phone ban’ is a policy which isn’t needed for something that isn’t a problem, timed for the Conservative Party conference in a desperate attempt to grab a headline
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We will issue guidance to schools to take immediate actions for leaders to do the right thing by their pupils and teachers.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “The announcement of a ‘mobile phone ban’ is a policy which isn’t needed for something that isn’t a problem, timed for the Conservative Party conference in a desperate attempt to grab a headline.
“Most schools already prohibit the use of mobile phones during the school day or have robust rules restricting their use to specified circumstances.”
