A “whole society” approach is needed to stop children doom-scrolling beyond the classroom with most schools already banning mobile phones, research has found.
Data from the children’s commissioner for England reveals 90% of secondary schools and 99.8% of primary schools already have policies in place that stop the use of mobile phones during the day.
However, online safety is still the second most cited concern for school leaders, second only to mental health services.
Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the findings show banning phones in schools “will not keep children safe when they go home” and stronger action is needed.
Solutions she will call for on Thursday include not giving children under-16s smartphones and greater accountability for tech companies, Sky News understands.
Dame Rachel will also call on parents to model the behaviour they want in their children, such as screen breaks, no phones at meals and not taking phones to bed.
The research showed nearly a quarter of children spend more than four hours a day on an internet-enabled device.
Image: Rachel de Souza. Pic: PA
The data includes responses from 19,000 schools, making it the most comprehensive evidence to date on mobile phone policies in the classroom.
It found most schools had strict rules, including not allowing phones on to school grounds at all, requiring pupils to hand them in or requiring them to be kept out of sight.
Secondary schools were more likely to allow some phone use, with about 10% permittingit during breaks or lunchtime.
The children’s commissioner said the findings prove that most schools already have phone policies aligned with the Department for Education’s non-statutory guidance.
This was introduced by the Tories last year, but the party now says headteachers should be legally required to ban phones from schools, something Labour has ruled out.
Dame Rachel said headteachers do not need “direction imposed nationally by the government”, and rather a “whole-society approach to strengthening safety online” is needed to protect children beyond the school gates.
Calls grow for phone ban despite research
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Headteachers ‘wrong’ not to ban smartphones
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott, who has banned her own children from getting a smartphone until they are 16, said evidence of the damage they do is “undeniable” as she doubled down on her call for a statutory ban.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said this too was his “personal view”, saying a a ban would “alleviate pressure from school leaders, teachers, but also parents”.
This is something many MPs have called for, but the UK government has only gone as far as to support a review into the harms caused by apps like Snapchat and TikTok before any decision on restrictions are made.
Some Labour backbenchers fear ministers are shying away from tough measures to appease US tech firms as it seeks a trade deal to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The debate around smartphone usage has been heightened by the recent Netflix drama Adolescence, which centres on a 13-year-old boy suspected of murdering his classmate and the rise of incel culture.
The Online Safety Act passed in 2023 requires social media firms to block children from accessing harmful content and all users from accessing illegal content, but it will not be implemented in full until 2026 and it does not address screen time.
Donald Trump has reignited his row with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan after calling him a “nasty person” who has done “a terrible job”.
During an hour-long news conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland, the US president hit out at the Labour mayor, who has responded with his own snipey remarks.
Asked if he would visit London during his state visit in September, Mr Trump said: “I will, I’m not a fan of your mayor, I think he’s done a terrible job.
“A nasty person, I think.”
The prime minister then interrupted and said: “He’s a friend of mine.”
But the president added: “I think he’s done a terrible job but I will certainly visit London, I hope so.”
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Sir Sadiq’s spokesperson then released a statement saying: “Sadiq is delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world.
“He’d see how our diversity makes us stronger not weaker; richer, not poorer.
“Perhaps these are the reasons why a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his presidency.”
Image: Sir Sadiq Khan was knighted in June. Pic: PA
They noted that Sir Sadiq has won three mayoral elections, including when Mr Trump lost the US election in 2020.
This is not the first time Mr Trump and Sir Sadiq have locked horns.
Sir Sadiq then described Mr Trump as a “poster boy for racists”.
And in November 2024, after Mr Trump won his second term, Sir Sadiq said many Londoners would be “fearful” about what it would “mean for democracy”.
However, as Sir Keir tried to show diplomacy with Mr Trump after becoming PM, Sir Sadiq said he “wanted to work closely with the American president” ahead of his inauguration in January.
The London mayor said as somebody “who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognise the fact that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States”.
But he added: “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.”
The SEC delayed decisions on the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF and Grayscale’s Solana Trust, extending review periods as the US Congress moves with crypto regulation.
The US House of Representatives will be in recess for the month of August, but the Senate still has a week of business to address two crypto bills before breaking.