Allowing mobile phones in schools takes up just as much teacher time as banning them, a new study has found. However, the study also suggested that restrictive school phone policies are not linked to better student mental wellbeing, based on data from Year 8 and Year 10 students. It was collected in 2022 and 2023, before the previous Tory Government issued non-statutory guidance advising schools to ban phones. Professor Victoria Goodyear, who led the study, said: 'School phone policies, whether permissive or restrictive, are a huge drain on a school to enforce. Last month, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, updated non-statutory guidance for schools, saying phones must be banned even at breaktime.

Source: Daily Mail February 11, 2026 10:49 UTC