A new report by think tank the Policy Exchange highlights the correlation between mobile phone bans and better GCSE grades and Ofsted ratings.
The Policy Exchange submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 800 primary and secondary schools across the UK to establish the link between school performance and mobile phone bans in schools. Schools reported whether they had ‘effective bans’, ‘ban but phone present’, ‘partial bans' or ‘no bans’.
Some 84% of primary schools had ‘effective bans’, compared with 11% of secondary schools. Many schools with effective bans had a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM), bucking the national trend of FSM being linked with lower attainment, according to the report.
Schools with effective mobile phone bans saw children achieve GCSE results that were one to two grades higher than those in schools with laxer policies, it adds.
The report also finds that secondary schools with an effective ban on phones are more than twice as likely to be rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted as schools without one.
The report called for the Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza, to “use her statutory powers to extend the study in this report to a much larger number of schools”. It also called for the Education Endowment Foundation to carry out further research into the topic.
In response, Rachel de Souza, Children's Commissioner for England, said: “Classrooms should be environments where children and young people are focused on learning and exploring ideas without distractions. While mobile phones undoubtedly serve useful purpose for young people who may need to track their school transport, monitor health conditions, or update parents or guardians if they are running late, they should not be used in classrooms.
"As a former teacher and headteacher, I believe individual schools are best placed to know what works best for their school and students, but the focus of a school should always be on the learning and development of its students.”
The government was also urged to make current guidance “statutory and binding” within a year if the prevalence of mobile phones in schools hasn’t improved.
Meanwhile, researchers have called on Ofsted to incorporate the evidence into its Education Inspection Framework and inspector training.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Mobile phones distract and disrupt a child's education. They have no place in classrooms.
“That's exactly why we have banned mobile phones in schools, and I welcome this report from Policy Exchange further demonstrating why phone bans in classrooms are so important.
“Our plan to give every child a world-class education is working, with 90% of schools now good or outstanding, up from 68% in 2010.”
However, sector opinion on banning mobile phones in schools is split amid claims that such policies distract from deeper problems in education.
