Scottish Government announces new guidance on mobile phone use in schools

New government guidance “empowers” headteachers to introduce mobile phone bans at schools, it has been claimed.

The Scottish Government has published its first official guidance on mobile phone use in schools, following evidence on how it disrupts learning and teaching.

Education secretary Jenny Gilruth said teachers “know better than anyone the specific approach which will work best in their school”.

She added: “But we are making clear with this guidance that our headteachers are empowered to take action up to and including a whole school ban.”

Under the new guidance, students could be required to hand over their phones before classes and not allowed to use them during school trips.

However, the guidelines highlighted certain exceptions "may be necessary” including young carers who require ongoing contact with their family and students who require phones to monitor their medical conditions.

Some schools already have restrictions in place.

Last year Glasgow Gaelic School introduced a rule that banned phone use during and between classes. In May City of Edinburgh Council delayed its decision to ban mobile phones in schools until new Scottish Government guidance was published.

Earlier this year a Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association survey found 71 per cent of its members believed the misuse of mobile phones had a negative impact on pupil behaviour and learning.

Meanwhile, more than 90 per cent said their lessons were being interrupted by asking students to put away their mobile phones, with three-quarters sharing that this disrupted nearly all of their lessons.

Around nine in 10 also reported pupils were having detachment problems, due to their inappropriate use of mobile phones during classes.

However, the new guidelines have met criticism from opposition parties for being “extremely belated” and failing to address the gap in resources required to implement a ban.

Scottish Conservatives education spokesperson Liam Kerr said: “This is an extremely belated response from the SNP government to a significant problem they have ignored for too long. The Scottish Conservatives have led the calls for schools to have the power to ban mobile phones to maintain classroom discipline.

"What Jenny Gilruth’s statement does not address is the difficulty they will have in doing so, thanks to the SNP's broken promise that they would provide a laptop or tablet to every school pupil in Scotland – a problem highlighted to the education secretary at a recent meeting with teachers.

"If headteachers now decide to introduce a ban on mobile phone use, they must have the resources to implement it without pupils’ education suffering."

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie said the guidance is a “step in the right direction” but added that it is “no silver bullet as deteriorating behaviour in schools is part of a much wider problem”.

“Ministers need to finally deliver for school staff by giving them the resources they need to address poor behaviour and boost performance,” he added. “This should include improving provision for pupils with additional support needs and easing the often unmanageable workloads of teachers.”

This follows on from similar measures being issued in England last February. The guidance requires headteachers to prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including at break times.