A stark new government survey has revealed that the majority of secondary schools in England are not enforcing strict mobile phone confiscation policies, despite ongoing national debates about their use in education.
The Data Behind School Phone Policies
Only one in ten secondary schools make pupils hand in their phones for the entire school day, according to the Department for Education's annual National Behaviour Survey. The polling of head teachers found that a mere nine per cent require students to deposit phones into storage upon entry, while just five per cent had implemented complete bans.
The vast majority of schools – 75 per cent – operate on a 'keep but don't use' policy, allowing pupils to carry their phones provided they remain unused during school hours. This approach presents significant enforcement challenges, with teachers previously noting the impossibility of monitoring every child constantly throughout the day.
Enforcement Challenges and Student Compliance
The survey, which gathered responses from approximately 550 secondary heads in the state sector, indicates substantial compliance issues. Only 15 per cent of secondary heads reported that pupils follow the school's mobile phone policy 'all of the time'.
When researchers surveyed 2,100 secondary school pupils directly, the compliance figures appeared even lower. Just nine per cent of students claimed they always follow their school's mobile phone rules, while 34 per cent admitted they 'rarely' or 'never' adhere to the policy.
These findings suggest that even when schools prohibit phone use, the constant temptation of having devices in pockets proves too strong for many students. The data directly contradicts recent claims by Sir Keir Starmer that new legislation is unnecessary because 'almost every school bans phones in school; they do it already'.
Legal Challenges and Generational Differences
The survey emerges amid a judicial review claim by campaigners against the Government's decision not to make smartphones in schools illegal. Among those supporting the legal challenge is 17-year-old Flossie McShea, who reported being exposed to phone videos of pornography and beheadings while at school.
The campaign group Generation Alpha, led by fathers Will Orr-Ewing, 40, and Pete Montgomery, 45, is mounting the legal challenge. They advocate for a total ban on smartphones in schools, though their proposal would exempt traditional 'brick phones' without internet access.
The campaigners argue that allowing unsupervised internet access during the school day constitutes a safeguarding failure, given the extreme content students can access. They have raised £28,960 of their £50,000 target through a CrowdJustice crowd-funding page to pursue their legal case.
Despite the current lax approach in secondary schools, the data shows improvement from the previous year, when only three per cent demanded phones be handed in and 66 per cent prohibited use on school grounds.
Meanwhile, primary schools demonstrate markedly stricter policies, with a separate poll of 470 primary heads revealing that 80 per cent require phones to be surrendered at the door.
