Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make a comparative assessment of trends in the levels of academic attainment from children in schools that (a) have and (b) have not banned smartphones in the last 12 months.

Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance 2024. The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.