Schools will receive strengthened guidance requiring pupils’ mobile phones to be inaccessible throughout the school day. The updates focus on preventing students from using or even having access to phones while they are in class, not merely restricting visible or audible use.
Across coverage, the key change is that schools are expected to go further than older “not seen, not heard” approaches, where phones could be kept in pupils’ bags. Politics.co.uk reports the education secretary saying children should not use smartphones at any point during the school day, framing the move as a strengthened and clarified requirement.
Right-leaning reporting emphasizes enforcement in practical terms, describing an approach where pupils must hand phones in at the start of the day and schools remove phones for the full day. The Independent similarly focuses on tougher guidance to ensure phones are inaccessible, including through restrictions on phones being kept in pockets or bags during school hours. Overall, outlets largely converge on the direction of travel: less phone access across the entire school day.
