As part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the Conservatives have pushed the government to outlaw mobile phones in school.
In an amendment to Labour’s main piece of legislation, the Conservative Party has suggested that schools forbid pupils from carrying or using phones in class.
They contend that these kinds of regulations can enhance pupils’ academic achievement. However, the government has so far declined to impose a phone ban in schools, and according to one source, the Conservatives are just following the trend and trying to get attention.
A government spokesperson said: “Mobile phones are a distraction from learning, which is why our clear guidance sets out that school leaders should be restricting their use.”
“Around 97% of schools restrict mobile phone use in some way, while headteachers also have the ability to implement complete bans, with many choosing to exercise this right.”
The Conservative Party needs to secure support from a majority of MPs to add the amendment to the school bill. However, the effort to change the bill is unlikely to succeed, as Labour holds a working majority of 167 MPs.
The proposed bill was unable to pass before
The MP claims that this is the first time the House of Commons has addressed the problem of children using smartphones and social media excessively during this Parliament.
The measure requires the government to decide whether to raise the digital age of consent from 13 to 16 within a year.
Additionally, the MP noted that the typical 12-year-old now uses a smartphone for 21 hours every week, which is equivalent to four full school days of instruction.
Mr. MacAlister originally intended for the bill to include a legislative requirement that all English schools become mobile-free zones. However, the government announced last year that it was unlikely to approve a smartphone ban in schools, so he withdrew the plan.
Chris Bryant, minister of data protection and telecommunications, stated that the bill’s suggestions “very much chime with what we intend to do.”
Private members’ bills give backbenchers an opportunity to draw attention to significant issues and increase their profile, even if they seldom pass into law without government backing.
Mobile phones cause negative impact on children
According to the study, pupils’ academic performance and mental health do not increase when phones are prohibited in classrooms. It discovered no appreciable differences between schools with and without phone restrictions in terms of students’ behavior, sleep, exercise, or general phone use.
The study did find that using cellphones and social media more often was linked to poorer results in each of these areas.
This study adds to the current discussion regarding whether or not school phone bans are actually useful by being the first of its kind to look at the relationship between student health and education metrics and school phone policy.
The most recent data from Ofcom, the UK’s online safety watchdog, shows that 96% of children aged 12 to 15 currently own a smartphone. In response to non-binding recommendations urging headteachers to implement limits, the Department for Education in England revealed last year that the majority of schools were already restricting smartphone use.
Wales has a distinct strategy, although Scotland and Northern Ireland have taken comparable actions. The focus placed on “digital skills” in the Welsh curriculum has led to greater flexibility and transparency around smartphone use in schools there. This illustrates several regional strategies for controlling smartphone use in classrooms.
The study may contribute to the continuing discussion about whether or not smartphones should be completely prohibited for kids under the age of sixteen. According to some schools, parents should be in charge of controlling their kids’ phone use.
The Conservative Party, however, is one of the groups urging the government to place more stringent limitations on smartphones in classrooms.
