Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of school measures to tackle (a) threatening behaviour and (b) bullying via smartphones in Surrey Heath constituency.

​All schools are required, by law, to have a behaviour policy which outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents.

In addition, the government’s ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime. Headteachers are responsible for implementation of guidance within their schools.

Whilst the department has not directly assessed these measures in Surrey Health constituency, the department’s National Behaviour Survey (NBS) reports can be used to monitor national perceptions of behaviour in schools over time. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-behaviour-survey-reports. The NBS asks panels of pupils, parents, school leaders and teachers about their perceptions on a range of topics relating to pupil behaviour, including frequency, impacts and bullying, and responses to misbehaviour.