England to enshrine school mobile phone ban in law

Authorities in England plan to legally enforce a ban on mobile phone use in schools.

The announcement was made by the Department for Education, according to Sky News.

The department intends to introduce amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, giving legal force to existing guidance. Currently, schools are advised to restrict phone use, but headteachers are not obliged to follow the recommendation.

“We have been consistently clear that mobile phones have no place in schools, and the majority already prohibit them. This amendment makes existing guidance statutory, giving legal force to what schools are already doing in practice,” a Department for Education spokesperson said.