Guidance for schools on the mobile phones ban

In light of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill receiving royal assent on 29 April, the Department for Education has confirmed that a ban on mobile phones (and similar devices) in schools in England will be introduced. The issue has been a hot topic in the wider context of parliamentary discussion and debate about the harmful impact of smartphone technology and social media on children, though most schools already operate some form of restriction. 

What will the difference be in practice?

For many schools, the difference may be relatively minor: since February 2024, DfE has published guidance encouraging schools to prohibit mobile phone use throughout the school day and since early 2026 this guidance has stipulated that schools should be “mobile phone-free by default”. The key change is therefore the legal status of the guidance which will become statutory. Some will consider this to be a less impactful step than the ban being written into primary legislation as had been proposed by the House of Lords. What it does mean is that there will be a clear legal requirement to have regard to and ordinarily follow the statutory guidance unless there is a very good reason not to. 

How should schools implement the ban?

Note that at the time of writing, the final version of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act (the Act) had not been published, so this wording will need to be closely scrutinised. It also remains to be seen whether the DfE will make further updates to the guidance once it becomes statutory, however steps that can be taken now to prepare and ensure compliance with the existing guidance are set out below.

Ensure that there is a clear policy prohibiting mobile phones and similar devices in place (subject to the specific exceptions described below) during the school day. “School day” includes lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime. This could be set out in a standalone policy but in our view is best written into the Behaviour Policy so it can be linked explicitly to sanctions and other related matters such as searching, screening and confiscation. (Note that either way, mobile phones and similar devices will need to be specifically identified as items that pupils may be searched for in the Behaviour Policy).

On a practical level, how the ban will work needs to be determined: is the plan to have no phones on site, or for pupils to hand their phones in to staff each morning, or place them in secure pouches/lockers, or another system?  New equipment may be required and staff will need to be briefed. Equally critical will be communicating the policy clearly to parents and pupils including what will happen if the rules are broken. The DfE has published supporting materials for communicating policy to parents—these can be used to structure messaging and anticipate objections.

Other policies or practices in school may also need updating, for example, acceptable use of IT / bring your own device policies (which might for example allow otherwise prohibited devices such as tablets to be used for specific educational purposes), the online safety section of your safeguarding policy and any policies relating to staff use of their mobile phones (which should not permit staff to use their own phones for personal reasons in front of pupils). 

Are there circumstances where mobile phones are permitted in schools?

Yes. The DfE guidance is clear that there may be exceptional circumstances where schools should consider making adaptations to their policy for specific pupils, for example to meet legal duties to support pupils with medical conditions (under the Children and Families Act 2014) or to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils (under the Equality Act 2010). 

Other circumstances where mobile phones may be permitted included in boarding schools outside the school day (though a clear policy needs to be in place regarding the use of phones which reflects the requirements of the Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools) and for residential or other school trips outside the school day. The DfE advises that “schools should ensure that pupils’ educational experience on a school trip is not disrupted by the presence of mobile phones and should consider prohibiting or restricting their use.”

Sixth form pupils may also be granted permission to use mobile phones at specific times / for specific purposes to reflect their increasing independence and responsibility, however this must not compromise the school’s overall policy and restrictions in place for other pupils. 

Inspections and accountability

Ofsted has fully endorsed a ban on phones in schools and already checks schools’ mobile phone policies and the consistency of implementation as part of inspection activity, additional scrutiny on this issue can be expected. 

Next steps

As above, the key steps are to ensure that policy and practice reflect the DfE’s guidance on mobile phones. Our experienced operational lawyers are happy to help with policy updates and advice on specific scenarios for example involving pupils with SEND or medical needs and/ or complaints raised by parents.

Richard Freeth is a Partner and Clare Wigzell is an Associate and Professional Development Lawyer at Stone King.