Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about children’s use of smartphones.
A large body of research has linked the amount of ‘screen time’ such as watching television, playing computer games, and using smartphone apps with negative outcomes for children of all ages. In a school context, using smartphones can be extremely distracting for both pupils and their teachers.
The Department for Education has published new guidance (available here: Mobile phones in schools: guidance - GOV.UK (publishing.service.gov.uk)) which supports head teachers in banning mobile phone use throughout the school day, including at break times, to tackle disruptive behaviour and online bullying while boosting attention during lessons. This is supporting the wider work the Government is doing to raise standards in schools by increasing students’ focus and reducing distractions.
The guidance advises schools to prohibit mobile phones but allows them autonomy in how they implement this policy. Schools will receive examples of various approaches, such as banning phones from the premises, collecting phones upon arrival, and securely storing them during the school day.
This policy aligns England with countries like France, Italy, and Portugal, which have already implemented similar bans. It follows warnings from the United Nations about the risks of smartphones in schools and government data showing that about a third of secondary school students report frequent unauthorised phone use during lessons.
The ban supports teachers and education staff and builds on the Government's educational reforms, backed by nearly £60 billion in funding for schools by 2024-25, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-funding-for-schools-in-england-at-a-record-high It is also part of a £10 million investment in behaviour hubs (you can read more about these hubs here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/behaviour-hubs) and the establishment of a new behavioural taskforce led by Tom Bennett, the Department for Education's behaviour tsar.
Concerning social media, there are benefits to its use by children such as staying connected with friends and family, educational opportunities like creating videos, and potential mental health benefits for children who may find it easier to discuss their problems online. However, it is crucial that children feel and are safe online. Although I am not aware of any plans to raise the minimum age restriction on social media platforms to 16, Social media platforms offer various privacy features to help keep children safe, such as setting accounts to private, disabling location settings, and blocking friend requests. Parental controls can also monitor usage time, schedule breaks, and view blocked contacts.
While there are no plans to mandate that children under 16 cannot use unrestricted smartphones, the Online Safety Act 2023 has introduced significant improvements for child safety online. It requires user-to-user and search service providers to tackle illegal third-party content accessed on or via their service and protect children from harmful but legal content as well as cyberbullying and online abuse. Companies must assess risks to children from this kind of content and implement appropriate proportionate and age-appropriate protections, and they must prevent children from accessing online pornography. All in-scope companies must tackle illegal content, including illegal abuse and harassment. You can read more about what the Online Safety Act 2023 does and who it applies to here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-act-explainer/online-safety-act-explainer
More broadly, parents, guardians and carers are encouraged to have regular conversations with children from a young age about internet and social media use to ensure they feel comfortable discussing any issues they may encounter.
There is further guidance on the Young Minds website which you can access here: (https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/social-media/) and on the NSPCC's website which you can read here: (https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/social-media/).
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me about this important issue.
Sincerely,
