Strengthened guidance to take the next leap to phone-free schools
What was announced
Children will benefit from distraction-free learning under strengthened mobile phone guidance.
Key points, in the publisher's words
- Children will benefit from distraction-free learning under strengthened mobile phone guidance to help schools take the next step towards a truly phone-free school day.
- The strengthened guidance will make clear that schools should go beyond ‘not seen, not heard’ - where phones may remain in pupils’ bags - and adopt whole-school strategies that keep phones out of use and inaccessible throughout the school day.
- Access to mobile phones risks pulling children away from their learning and from each other. Evidence shows phones can cause distraction and disruption in lessons, making it harder for pupils to focus and engage with learning.
Figures in this announcement
Each line is quoted from the original. Figures are as the publisher stated them on the day.
- “Polling published in March this year found that 40% of children aged 9–16 were turning down real-world opportunities to spend time online.”
- “While most schools set out that phones should be not seen and not heard, only 16% of secondary pupils say phone rules are followed all of the time, and with the rapid increase in technology take-up and emerging evidence, pupils, schools and parents need more clarity.”
Who and where
People
- Lucy Powell (MP for Manchester Central (Labour (Co-op))) · more news
UK bodies of power
- Department for Education (UK government department) · more news
Constituencies of the MPs named: Manchester Central.
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: School curriculum.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/strengthened-guidance-to-take-the-next-leap-to-phone-free-schools
- Published 2026-11-10 12:41:13 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-11-10 12:45:42 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 11885, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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