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Should schools ban smartphones?

Journalist: Jon Brady, Daily Mail

ended 05. June 2025

Headteacher Simon Botten has laid out why one of his primary schools, Blackhorse Primary in Bristol, has implemented an outright smartphone ban for pupils. The devices are no longer allowed on school grounds after one pupil's phone was found with 9,000 WhatsApp notifications in a single year's group chat: https://southgloshead.wordpress.com/2025/05/26/why-we-banned-smartphones/

Mr Botten said the ban was brought in amid concerns of excessive screentime, cyberbullying, online predators, and the peer pressure associated with having the latest gadgets that some pupils simply can't afford.

If you're an expert in any relevant field, I want to know - is this the right call, or do we need to accept kids are growing up in a tech-first world?

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
As Chair of Trustees for a multi-academy trust with five primary schools in Essex, we believe there is no need for primary-aged children to have mobile phones in school, and their use is banned. Online safety is integrated into the curriculum as children grow up in a rapidly evolving digital world. Parents should also be aware of the risks of giving unfiltered phone access at home.
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Chris Barry
Director at Thomas Legal
Schools that embrace smartphones appear to be doing well. The school app allows homework to be uploaded and completed, parents and children can jointly be notified of issues, as well as keeping a close eye on progress and behaviour. For children who travel to school on a bus, having a smart phone is essential for tracking both their movements and safety
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Pete Mugleston
Mortgage Advisor & Managing Director at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
While kids are growing up in a tech-first world, limiting screen time isn't a bad thing, and more schools should consider the approach of Blackhorse Primary. We can't turn back the clock; smartphones are part of daily life, whether we like it or not. But limiting their use in schools, where students should be focused on learning and not what's on their phones, is important. Maybe students could drop their phones into a safe box when they arrive at school and pick them up when they leave. A compromise that recognises their necessity in everyday life, but also acknowledges they aren't always conducive to creating an environment devoted to learning.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Couldn't agree more- kids should be kids and I can't see the benefit of phones being in schools especially primary. I canunderstand about contact for getting to and from school but that should be in senior schools only. For too many, phones have become a habit and default necessity but should be in private time only.
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Ben Foster
CEO at The SEO Works
Schools should absolutely ban smartphones. Studies have shown that teenagers reporting higher screen exposure are affected in their attention performance. School is about creating the right environment to learn, where attention is needed. If pupils have their smartphones turned on, this leads to continual micro distractions, and reduction in attention. You know yourself that if you have your phone in your pocket, a natural instict is to check it, even if it isn't pinging away.

I think we need to accept that smartphones are part of our young people's lives now, but they need clear boundaries. They should be allowed to carry them to school turned on, but they need to be switched off at the gates. And if pupils are seen with their phones on in school, they are confiscated until the end of the day. They come with lots of benefits, but also lots of challenges. We should also be aware of the impact on mental health these devices can cause, if used continually.
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Keith Budden
Managing Director at Ensurety
I personally don't see why any primary school aged child needs a smartphone. I can see why a basic mobile so they can keep in touch with their parents and siblings is probably ok, but smartphones should be out of bounds especially during school time. I read a while ago of a school in the Netherlands where for children of all ages, when they entered the school they had to deposit their phone into a sealed pouch, then at the end of the school day their phone was returned to them. This to me feels like an ideal solution (although I recognise there may be financial and logistical costs with initiating this). I don't really see an alternative though, if you allow the child to keep their phone with them, we all know that a minority will still use that phone even when they know they shouldn't. While it's fine in principle to then have a confiscation policy, confiscation creates agitation and argument and also would disrupt classroom life. Far better no phone full stop.