Pupils told to use apps in schools despite calls for smartphone ban

Telegraph

06-03-2025

Schools are demanding pupils download apps for schoolwork despite fears over allowing smartphones in the classroom.
Almost two-thirds of secondary school children surveyed by the Parentkind charity said teachers ask them to use apps for assignments, while more than a fifth said they are regularly made to use smartphones in lessons.
Many schools now encourage pupils to use apps specially designed for their institution, which keep families updated on important information and act as a centralised hub for homework and marking.
Some also use technology to enhance lessons through apps such as Kahoot! an AI-powered game platform that turns teaching content into quizzes.
But experts warned allowing students to access smartphones for lessons likely serves to legitimise their use throughout the school day, despite known risks.
The Parentkind poll, shared exclusively with The Telegraph, found that 60 per cent of secondary school children have been asked to download an app for schoolwork and timetables, while 22 per cent are regularly required to use smartphones in lessons.
The charity commissioned polling firm Censuswide to survey 2,000 British pupils aged 11 to 15 between Feb 11 and Feb 19 2025, plus 2,001 parents of children in the same age bracket.
It found widespread use of smartphones during the school day, despite ministers' claims that most head teachers have already banned them outright.
The poll revealed that just one in seven (14 per cent) of pupils said they are banned from using smartphones at all on the school premises, while 39 per cent are allowed to use them during lunchtime and breaks.
More than two in five teenagers said their classmates use phones in lessons 'every day', while 22 per cent said widespread access to mobiles disturbed learning on a daily basis.
Parentkind said the findings showed allowing schools to set their own rules on smartphone use was 'simply not tough enough'.
The charity is calling on ministers to make phones in schools a safeguarding issue and for Ofsted to measure children's access to them as part of school inspections.
Jason Elsom, the chief executive of Parentkind, told The Telegraph: 'Children are telling us what we all suspect, smartphones are getting in the way of lessons.
'This polling shows that we still have a long way to go to rid schools of smartphones, with teenagers telling us their classmates are regularly flouting the rules and disturbing lessons through smartphone use.
'Society has sleepwalked into a position where children are addicted to harmful 'electronic drugs' and have no escape from their digital dealers. School should be a safe haven.'
'Phones have no place in the classroom'
The Government recently rejected a Tory amendment to its schools Bill that would have introduced legislation banning smartphones from the classroom.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, criticised the proposal as a 'headline-grabbing gimmick' and insisted that most schools already prohibit the use of smartphones.
She told MPs in January: 'I agree that phones have no place in the classroom. It is entirely right that schools take firm action to stop their use, and I know that that is what the vast majority of schools already do.'
Current rules in England leave it up to schools to devise their own policies on pupils' smartphone use, with some opting for an outright ban while others limit their use to break times.
It comes despite many countries pushing ahead with smartphone bans in schools amid fears over children's access to the portable devices.
Hungary and the Netherlands rolled out mobile bans in schools last year following a damning report by the United Nations which said that they were distracting, likely to have a 'negative link' with academic performance and could be used to bully and harass peers.
More than half – 53 per cent – of parents polled by Parentkind said they supported an all-out ban on phones being used on school premises.
Nearly three-quarters said they backed stricter measures to rid classrooms of phones, while still allowing them to be used during breaks in the school day.
Seventy per cent of parents said they wanted tech companies to develop a new wave of so-called 'dumb phones' for teenagers, which would limit their access to social media and harmful websites.
Mr Elsom said: 'Parents tell us this is one of their biggest worries and they are increasingly looking for a tough response'.
A Government spokesman said: 'Mobile phones are a distraction from learning, which is why school leaders should be restricting their use and we have clear guidance on how to do this.
'The vast majority of schools already do this in some way, and have the power to confiscate devices if pupils fail to follow the rules.
'By the summer, robust new protections for children will be in force through the Online Safety Act to protect them from harmful content and ensure they have an age-appropriate experience online.'