‘Not seen, not heard’ will no longer be enough
Education unions have warned that schools will require additional funding if they are to meet forthcoming guidance that will require them to go beyond ‘not seen, not heard’ on mobile phones.
The current statutory guidance, which only came into force in June, makes schools and trusts legally responsible for being ‘phone-free’ throughout the day. However, this week the government announced that it intends to go further, requiring schools to go beyond ‘not seen, not heard’ (where phones may remain in pupils’ bags) and adopt ‘whole-school strategies that keep phones out of use and inaccessible throughout the school day’. The new guidance is expected to be in force from September 2027.
Justifying the proposed tightening of the guidance, the Department for Education (DfE) cites polling published in March this year that found that 40 per cent of children aged 9 to 16 were turning down real-world opportunities to spend time online, as well as evidence from PISA of a significant international decline in reading and maths performance, potentially linked to ‘digital distraction’.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said: ‘Children should not be using smartphones at any point during the school day, full stop. That’s why we’re strengthening our guidance to take the next leap towards truly phone-free schools.’
Some schools have already put in place stronger whole-school approaches, such as having lockable pouches, storage lockers, collecting phones at the start of the day, or simply banning them from the school site completely. However, many of these approaches come with additional costs, in either additional facilities, staff time, or both. Sector unions have responded to the announcement by calling for more funding for schools to support them in meeting the new requirements.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders union NAHT, said: ‘Many schools already have restrictions on phones, but going beyond a ‘not seen, not heard’ approach comes at a cost. If schools are to implement some of the more robust measures suggested in this guidance, they will need access to additional funding and support.’
Meanwhile Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, commented: ‘Successive governments and administrations have spent considerable time creating and revising guidance on this issue, despite the fact that schools already have robust and effective policies in place on the use of mobile phones. This latest effort does at least provide some clarity, but if this government is determined for schools to go further then they have to provide them with the means to do so. School leaders cannot simply make mobile phones disappear. They are a fact of life and something nearly all young people will possess by the time they arrive at secondary school, if not earlier. Schools will need time to develop a new policy that works in their setting. If all schools are going to be expected to have lockable pouches or other secure storage facilities for every pupil, the cost involved will be very significant indeed. This is not feasible unless the government puts in the funding required to meet these costs.’
Also commenting, Dame Rachel de Souza, children’s commissioner for England said: ‘I welcome strong action to stop phones distracting pupils and disrupting the school day. I know most headteachers already restrict phone use in their schools and I would like to see support for all heads to apply this important policy.’
The DfE is also launching a new consultation on technology in the classroom, which will run until 4 February 2027. The consultation will explore independent safety certification for EdTech, with the aim to give parents and schools ‘confidence that new technology is safe while allowing responsible innovation to thrive’.