Keir Starmer should introduce a legal ban on mobile phones in schools, the leader of the UK’s largest education union has suggested.
General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) Daniel Kebede said it was his “personal view” the government should take a stronger stance.
Schools in England were given non-statutory guidance under the former Tory government in February 2024 intended to stop the use of phones during the school day. It makes clear schools should prohibit the use of phones during lessons and lunchtime. But the NEU’s Mr Kebede said: “My personal view is I would support a statutory ban on mobile phones in schools. I think it would alleviate pressure from school leaders, teachers, but also parents.”
The NEU General Secretary also said the average 12-year-old “has access to the most hardcore pornography on their mobile phone and that is incredibly damaging to the wellbeing of young boys and their perceptions of women, girls, sex and relationships.” He added the UK “should look towards Australia ” where the country’s senate has passed a social media ban for children under 16.
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His comments come as a survey of more than 15,000 schools today suggests the vast majority already have policies in place restricting the use of phones. This included 90% of secondary schools and 99.8% of primaries, according to the research. Policies can include banning devices on school grounds, keeping them out of sight, or requiring kids to leave them in a secure place they cannot access during school hours.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said any headteacher who bans mobile phones in their school “has my full backing”. But she said: “It should always be their choice, based on their knowledge of what’s best for the children in their own classrooms, not a direction imposed nationally by the government.”
Last month in the Commons, Mr Starmer also argued a legal ban on phones in schools was “completely unnecessary” when challenged by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. “I have teenage children. Almost every school bans phones in school – they do it already,” the Prime Minister said.
“We need to concentrate on what is really important here, which is getting to the content that children should not be accessing. I would genuinely like to work across the House on that, because there is a huge amount of work to do.”
Cash-strapped schools are cutting back on teaching staff and assistants, an alarming survey warns, The research for the Sutton Trust found 51% of secondary school leaders reported making cuts to teaching staff – up from 38% last year. The social mobility charity said some schools heading towards “breaking point” are using the pupil premium – vital funding for disadvantaged kids – to plug budget holes. And 88% of school leaers said this extra cash is less than they need to serve those pupils.
The poll of 1,208 of senior leaders and teachers also found half (50%) cutting the numbers of teaching assistants. A further 53% reported slashing spending on school trips and outings, according to the survey of 1,208 of senior leaders and teachers. The poll was conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) for the Sutton Trust, which has been monitoring the data since 2017.
Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said: “State schools are overwhelmed with financial pressures, and many are rapidly heading towards breaking point. This is having a devastating impact on their ability to provide the support that the most disadvantaged pupils need, with almost half of secondary school leaders forced to use funding intended for poorer pupils to plug budget holes. If action isn’t taken, we’ll be failing the next generation.”
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