School and college leaders have called on the Education Secretary
to end his ‘fixation’ with banning mobile phones in classrooms in
their response to a government consultation on student
behaviours.
The Association of School and College Leaders believes education
leaders already have the use of mobile phones by students well
under control and should be left to make their own decisions,
pointing out that a blanket ban could disadvantage some learners.
Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at ASCL, said Secretary of
State for Education Gavin Williamson’s view on mobile phones was
‘outdated and out of touch’ with the reality in schools and
colleges.
“School and college leaders are slightly mystified about the
Education Secretary’s fixation with banning mobile phones in
classrooms because they have been dealing with the practicalities
of this issue for many years now,” she said.
“Many already ask students to keep phones in their bags during
the academic day and others have positive policies in place that
allow young people to make limited use of their phones to aid
their learning or capture important information.
“For other learners a mobile phone is an essential safety
measure, especially children in the care system, and for young
carers a mobile phone might be needed to provide essential
support to parents.”
She also pointed out that secondary schools had an important role
to play in educating their youngest pupils about the safe use of
mobile phones, particularly social media, and in recognising and
reporting online harms.
“Our view remains that schools and colleges already have strong
tried and tested policies and they are best placed to make their
own decisions on how mobile phone use impacts pupils’ learning
and wellbeing,” she commented.
In its consultation response, ASCL also reported that some of the
emergency measures needed during the pandemic have helped offset
poor conduct and led to fewer complaints of anti-social
behaviour, with some schools and colleges planning to keep them
in place on an ongoing basis.
Many had found benefits in staggering the end of the school day,
while others identified roles for older pupils as wellbeing
champions, buddies and mentors to support younger pupils.
ASCL also recognised the need for quiet spaces within schools and
colleges in which pupils demonstrating challenging behaviour
could be supported to re-engage constructively and quickly with
their classmates.
But it criticised the DfE’s use of the term ‘removal room’ as
‘unhelpful and stigmatising’ and warned that their use could be
particularly inappropriate for children with special educational
needs and disabilities (SEND).
Ms McCulloch added: “We welcome opportunities to share good
practice and learning in support of children who struggle to
regulate their behaviour, but the timing of this consultation
could hardly be worse for gathering the valuable and extensive
evidence required, coming at the end of a particularly busy and
difficult school year, coinciding with a very busy end of term
period, and running into much-needed holiday time for
tired school and college leaders.”
