Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of mobile phones by pupils on discipline in school classrooms.

In 2017 the Department commissioned behaviour expert Tom Bennett to carry out an independent review on behaviour management in schools, focusing on leadership, culture and systems used to tackle disruptive pupils’ behaviour. The report includes a chapter about the use of technology in schools and case studies of policies in place. The report can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools.

The Government has made clear that teachers can use reasonable force to maintain behaviour, extending their searching powers and allowing teachers to impose same day detentions.

Head teachers have powers to set school behaviour policies, including rules for mobile phone use. Each school has the autonomy to ban or limit the use of mobile phones on school premises and during the school day. Schools should set out in the behaviour policy their approach to pupil mobile phone use and any sanction that will be imposed for breaking the rules. Sanctions can include confiscating phones, where necessary.

Teachers can search pupils without their consent for a mobile phone if mobile phones are banned by the school rules or if they reasonably suspect the phone has been or is likely to be used to commit an offence or cause personal injury. Advice on searching, screening and confiscation was published last year and can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.

Last year the Government announced a £10 million investment to further support schools and teachers to share best practice and knowledge on behaviour management and classroom management.