Mobile Phones in Schools

Baroness Thornton Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I think that the way that the noble Lord describes the issue as letting people in is very helpful in thinking about our approach more broadly to special educational needs and disability reform, where we want our schools and learning for children to be as inclusive as possible. One way, as the noble Lord frequently identifies, is through the use of assistive technology. I can assure him that that will be an important part of the SEND reforms and will be maintained through the guidance on the use of phones, as I think I have already set out.

[Baroness Thornton (Lab)]

I very much welcome this Statement, particularly the edtech safety certification that is in it, because it will support the very difficult decisions that schools are having to take about what to purchase next, how to purchase it and what they and their pupils should be doing with it. Before I ask my question, I want to say that I was slightly surprised by the noble Baroness, Lady Cash. Her championing of paper sounded a bit Luddite to me. If the weight of my granddaughter’s backpack is anything to go by, given the books and papers that she has in there, I think paper at her school plays a very large part in her education. However, her maths homework is set on the tablet that she does it on, and the fact that the homework is set online means that my daughter can watch, supervise and make sure that it gets done. I think that those are excellent uses.

The question I wanted to ask my noble friend was about young pupils whose parents cannot purchase the devices that they might need to help them with their education and whether there is some recognition that there is an inequality here that could be perpetuated by the use of technology. I know—I hope—that my Government are recognising that, as usual.

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend. She ably makes a point about the range of uses to which technology may well be put and the ways in which it may well, depending on the evidence—which of course we are developing—support children’s learning. She also makes an important point about the use of devices. Our view as a Government is that any expectations on students should not require them to purchase screens or digital devices, for precisely the reason that my noble friend outlined. To return to the noble Lord’s point, the use of technology has to include people, and not exclude them by virtue of their family background or their income at home.