Ban on phones in schools backed by House of Lords

04 Feb 2026, 03:15

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A ban on students using mobile phones during the school day has been backed by the House of Lords.

A Tory amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill passed with 178 votes to 140, and comes just weeks after opposition peers supported legislation to ban under-16s in the UK from social media platforms.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has previously advised schools that they should be phone-free during school hours, but the guidance lacks legal force.

Schools were first given directions on phone use in February 2024, but Phillipson argued it did not go far enough, and updated it last month.

The education secretary wrote to heads to make it clear that all schools should be phone-free for the entire day, including breaktimes and lunchtimes.

Pressing for the law change, Tory shadow education minister Baroness Barran said: "We need to reset our own and our children's relationship with smartphones and social media, as smartphones are so often the gateway drug to social media.

"The flexibility inherent in the new guidance from the government is portrayed positively as giving schools and communities discretion to adopt an approach that suits them best, but the reality for many school heads is that it is the exercise of that discretion that's difficult, and it leaves schools facing off against pupils and parents."

The changes made to the bill will be considered by MPs during the parliamentary tussle known as "ping-pong", which sees legislation move between the Commons and Lords until agreement on its wording is reached.

As part of the updated guidance, Ofsted will be inspecting schools on the implementation of their mobile phone policies going forward, with the government advising teachers not to use their phones in front of pupils either.

The recent debate around teenagers and phones has centred around two main areas: the place for phones in schools, and whether under-16s should be allowed on social media.

Although the recently announced government consultation on social media concerns the whole of the UK, its guidance for schools on phones only includes England, as education is a devolved policy area.

There are concerns that moving towards a total ban on phone use in schools would bring more challenges.

Speaking to the BBC, Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Many students need them for medical reasons, for travelling to and from school, and they are part of a daily life.

"So what we'd be asking for is a way in which that could be managed, and investment to allow schools to control those situations in a safe and appropriate way."

But Charlotte Ashton, journalist and co-founder of Generation Focus, says she thinks a statutory ban is needed, to improve consistency between schools.

"What we need with a statutory ban is that every teacher to feel empowered and supported," she told BBC Breakfast.

"I struggle to concentrate with my phone in my pocket, let alone a 15-year-old who we're expecting to concentrate through maths."