Cheshire schools get new guidance on banning mobile phones

Ministers have published guidance for heads who want to make their schools no-phone zones, which includes advice on how to search pupils and their bags.

Around half of schools in the UK don’t currently ban phones, and of the half which do, many still allow them at break and lunch times.

The new guidance, which is not compulsory, instructs head teachers on how to ban the use of phones right through the school day.

Winsford Academy introduced a robust no-phone policy at the beginning of January.

All pupils must put their phones into remotely lockable pouches each morning, which can’t be opened until after the school day ends.  

Acting principal, Louisa Rogers, said staff have been ‘taken a bit by surprise’ by how well students adapted, and how quickly school life had changed for the better.

Ms Rogers said: “Mobile phone use in school was becoming a big problem for all sorts of reasons and we had to do something about it.

“We used to have regular complaints from staff and students about being filmed without permission, and that, along with students using phones to access inappropriate content, is no longer an issue for us.

“The effect was immediate. Teachers are reporting far fewer distractions in lessons, they can start teaching more quickly, and they report more work is being completed.

“One of the nicest things is during breaks, students talk to each other more. At lunch time they’re sat in groups chatting, and the younger students have been playing more.

“Most parents were on board, and the vast majority of students just got on with it. We’re all used to it now."

“We’ve definitely done the right thing.”

Speaking about the new guidance, education secretary, Gillian Keegan, said: “Schools are places for children to learn and mobile phones are, at a minimum, an unwanted distraction in the classroom.

“We are giving our hard-working teachers the tools to take action to help improve behaviour and to allow them to do what they do best – teach.”