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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(10 October 2025)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of smartphones by pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Asked by:
Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat)

Answer

Mobile phones have no place in our schools.

Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.

The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools, 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools, already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.


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