Allowing mobile phones in schools takes up just as much teacher time as banning them, a new study has found.
Research from the University of Birmingham suggests that schools that allow phone usage spend on average 108 hours per week dealing with the fallout.
This includes recording incidents related to the phones, as well as providing staff with ‘information and training.’
Meanwhile, schools which forbid phone use spend slightly less time – 102 hours – managing this.
Teachers at these schools reported having to spend time ‘communicating with parents’ and ‘giving detentions’ to pupils who flouted the ban.
On Tuesday it prompted campaigners to renew calls to make it illegal to bring smartphones into schools, saying leaving heads to deal with the issue was ‘an insane waste of teachers’ time’.
The research also found restrictive phone policies saved schools some money through the lower time spent managing them – with restrictive rules estimated to cost on average £94 per pupil a year less than laxer rules.
However, the study also suggested that restrictive school phone policies are not linked to better student mental wellbeing, based on data from Year 8 and Year 10 students.
Allowing mobile phones in schools takes up just as much teacher time as banning them (pictured: campaigner Flossie McShea, 17, who wants phones outlawed in schools)
Research from the University of Birmingham suggests that schools that allow phone usage spend on average 108 hours per week dealing with the fallout (pictured: Baroness Barran, who brought an amendment to the School’s Bill last week which would outlaw phones in schools)
The data was taken from teacher surveys from 20 secondary schools – 13 with restrictive phone policies, and seven with more permissive policies.
It was collected in 2022 and 2023, before the previous Tory Government issued non-statutory guidance advising schools to ban phones.
Teaching leaders say that more phone bans have been implemented since then, although without the backing of the law it is often hard to persuade parents to comply.
Reacting to the study, Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: ‘Improved student wellbeing is just one potential benefit of banning phones in school.
‘While further research on this is clearly needed, most schools now have restrictions on phone use in place and report a range of benefits, from helping pupils to focus on learning to shielding them from inappropriate online content and bullying.
‘Effective enforcement activity can be time-consuming, but as parents and pupils’ expectations about being able to access their phone in school hours changes, and bans become the norm, we hope the need for such activity will be reduced.’
‘Restrictive’ policies were those that banned ‘recreational use’ for the entire school day, while ‘permissive’ ones were those that permitted recreational use, for example at breaktimes.
‘Staff in restricted schools appear to spend less time on monitoring phone-related activities and administration duties, but more time applying behavioural sanctions for breaches of phone policy,’ the report noted.
Professor Victoria Goodyear, who led the study, said: ‘School phone policies, whether permissive or restrictive, are a huge drain on a school to enforce.
‘The high proportions of teacher time spent managing phone use or phone related behaviours during the school day is potentially being diverted away from other types of wellbeing promoting activities.’
The researchers said more work was needed on the topic and that a blanket ban would not be a ‘silver bullet’.
Last month, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, updated non-statutory guidance for schools, saying phones must be banned even at breaktime.
On Tuesday, Pete Montgomery, a parent campaigner who has launched a judicial review claim against the Government’s decision not to outlaw phones, said: ‘This is an out-of-date study. The policies the study looked at are not allowed any more under the latest phone guidance.
‘What it does show is that leaving it to schools to manage smartphones is an insane waste of teachers’ time. It is time for the Government to finally make a popular decision, and just ban smartphones from schools entirely. Schools that have really banned smartphones say it’s transformational. Far fewer parents buy their kids a smartphone in the first place, thanks to less peer pressure.
‘We expect to see many more schools “going to brick” in September 2026.’
It comes after teenage campaigner Flossie McShea, 17, said she was exposed to phone videos of porn and beheadings while at school.
Last week, peers voted through an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to include this law change – but this could later be struck out in the Commons.