1、1 School phone policies in England Findings from the Childrens Commissioners School and College Survey April 2025 2 Table of contents Foreword from Dame Rachel de Souza.3 Executive Summary.6 1.Background to childrens online safety,screentime,and calls for school smartphone bans.8 1.1.Smartphones and

2、 online safety.8 1.2 Current solutions to online harms.9 1.2.1 What is recommended to schools in England?.9 1.2.2 The Online Safety Act 2023.9 1.3 What other measures are being considered?.10 1.3.1 Recommendations from political parties.10 1.3.2 Parents.10 1.3.3 Child rights advocates and academics.

3、11 1.3.4 International solutions.11 1.3.5 The Safer Phones Bill.11 2.The Childrens Commissioners School Survey.12 2.1 Mobile phone use policies.13 2.1.1 Existing evidence on school phone policies.15 2.2 Do schools make exceptions?.15 2.3 Do schools with stricter mobile phone policies have different

4、priorities?.16 The Way Forward.18 Annex.19 References.20 3 Foreword from Dame Rachel de Souza Over the last four years,I have spoken to a million young people and thousands of parents about the most pressing issues facing children growing up in England today.One issue that comes up time and again fr

5、om children,parents,and professionals alike is online safety.While digital technology provides young people with unprecedented access to information and opportunities,it also exposes them to significant risks:harmful content,online bullying the dangers of exploitation and grooming,and simply spendin

6、g too much time online.A key area of debate in recent months has been the role of mobile phones in childrens lives,particularly in schools,and whether childrens use of phones at school and more generally should be restricted.This led me to question what was really happening in practice across our sc