A few months ago, Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi rode back on a pledge by his predecessor, Gavin Williamson, to completely outlaw phones in schools. Such a decision puts Mr Zahawi at odds with the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, who supports a ban. 

In the past, she has stated that “I think it’s generally a positive thing, it’s something lots of us have been doing for a while and I think there is a general groundswell of support for it,” she said.

“If you look at France, they’ve had a mobile ban in place for three years and I think it’s gone very well.”

While some schools have a ‘no-tolerance’ approach, requiring pupils to keep phones switched off and out of sight at all times, or perhaps to hand them in at reception at the start of the day, picking them up at the end of the day, other headteachers have said there is a role for phones in classrooms to be used as a learning tool.

Mr Williamson originally said that “Mobile phones are not just distracting, but when misused or overused, they can have a damaging effect on a pupil’s mental health and wellbeing. I want to put an end to this, making the school day mobile-free.”

This is a divisive topic.

According to @UswitchUK, the comparison and switching service, in a survey which was conducted last year, over half of parents (57%) now support banning mobile phones at school — with the figure growing from 49% just two years ago, Three quarters of parents (74%) believe that banning the use of mobile phones in schools would stop their children from being distracted, while three in five (61%) say a ban would go a long way towards reducing bullying according to the same survey.

Not all parents support the ban though, with the research showing that nearly four million parents (27%) believe a strict zero tolerance approach on mobile phones could be detrimental to their child’s education. Meanwhile, three quarters of parents (76%) are worried that banning mobile phones at school would make it more difficult for their child to contact them in an emergency. 

In schools where a ban on mobile phones is already in force, one in six pupils (16%) have to surrender them to teachers at the beginning of the day, while nearly half (43%) are trusted to keep their phone switched off.

This should be put in context, with headlines like ‘Screen time not intrinsically bad for children, say doctors’ showing that positives can be apparent. There is a balance which has to be kept in this instance.

The vast majority of parents (82%), which is the highest score in the entire survey, believe that the decision to enforce a ban on devices should ultimately come from the headteacher.

And so, it is really up to me - in consultation with the staff and parents - as to what the policy at the College should be. As with most of the key areas set within the ethos of the College, we have to be mindful of what we are really trying to achieve here. We want students to share the following mindset:

• To prioritise education - to attend College to make the very best of themselves by being present and engaged in every lesson, all of the time.
• To try their best to improve and give all of their effort to ensure that they give themselves the best chance they can to make progress.
• To be considerate of all other people who are part of the same community as they are. To consider their needs, to be polite to them and to try to help them whenever they can.

Of course, there is absolutely no place in the College for phones during lessons, unless a teacher directly requests the necessary involvement for one for completion of a task like a quiz or a survey. 

Education, and the direction of teachers during lessons, is the first and last word here, and is framed within a climate of trust between staff and students. 

We have a very simple rule at Ealing. 

Mobile phones are only to be used before College time, at breaks and lunches, and after the teaching day has ended. This includes Supervised, or self-study, lessons. Where students are found to be in contravention of this rule, they will be warned formally once to put the phone away in a bag.  A repeat offence will lead to confiscation of the phone - and this will be collected at the end of the College day.

We feel that this fits within the imperative of a trusting relationship. Students don’t want to lose their phones - for many of them, a lifeline - and they value the rules put in place. It is incredibly rare that any student here does not follow directives when they make a mistake - receiving a notification on the phone left on in their bag perhaps - and even rarer that a phone is confiscated.

The most powerful pieces of feedback from our parent survey were comments based on why we are successful in terms of student behaviour and engagement, and the following statements really struck a chord with me:

‘It seems the children are able to be themselves and are accepted as they are. They can express themselves openly, which encourages tolerance and acceptance amongst peers.’

‘I especially love that kids behave not because of strict authoritarian rule but by being given independence and responsibility’

Declaring a blanket ban on phones here simply would not fit the culture of individuality which we live, day in and day out. For some students, a mobile phone can be a form of solace on an otherwise anxious day. Sometimes the pace of life at the College can be driven, and rather hectic, and students need time to decompress at certain points. Some students simply prefer their own time, and they should have that choice - before lessons, at break, at lunch and after lessons. Of course, it would be preferable for every student to come here and converse with others throughout the day, and for phones to never be seen or heard, but sometimes, students may not feel up to this. As long as learning remains the priority, which it is, almost universally here, we will support that choice within their own free time.

Part of our role here is to be able to teach students to moderate their conduct, and to make the right decisions with what to do with their time. 

As far as I’m concerned, this means modelling the right behaviours ourselves - staff never have phones in lessons, and never use them in plain sight around College - whilst trusting students to learn, grow and develop in a manner which will ensure that they become responsible individuals.

The College has a goal of empowering students to become the best version of themselves which they can be. Mobile phones have changed the way we conduct our lives, and to ignore that would be unrealistic. 

They have their time and their place - and teaching students restraint and self-control within this changing world is the correct way forward - for us, at least.