School phone policies in England a ‘huge drain’ on staff resources – study

Smartphone policies in English secondary schools are a “huge drain” on resources, with staff spending on average more than 100 hours a week enforcing restrictions, according to research.Teachers, teaching assistants, caretakers and receptionists are involved with helping to police pupils’ smartphone use in school, researchers said, with multiple staff recording incidents, overseeing detentions and communicating with parents.The research by Birmingham University, published in the British Medical Journal, comes after the government issued new guidance advising schools to be phone-free, including during breaks and lunchtimes. The schools watchdog Ofsted will inspect how schools implement the policy.This week the NASUWT teaching union urged the government to introduce a statutory requirement – rather than just guidance – for schools to lock away pupils’ mobile phones for the whole school day.The study provides the first analysis of the economic impact of smartphone policies in schools and is based on data drawn from a nationally representative sample of 20 schools in England, 13 of which have “restrictive” policies and seven “permissive” policies.According to the research, restrictive policies require phones to be turned off and hidden in a school bag or handed in to reception throughout the school day, while permissive policies allow use during breaks and lunchtime.The self-reported data showed that on average, schools with restrictive policies spend 102 hours – or the full-time equivalent of 3.1 staff a week overall – on implementing policies.Schools with permissive policies spend slightly more time on average – 108 hours or the full-time equivalent of 3.3 staff a week – potentially costing £94 per pupil per school year more than more restrictive policies.Prof Victoria Goodyear, of the University of Birmingham, who is chief investigator of the Smart Schools 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, such as pastoral support or extracurricular activities.“We therefore need new ways of approaching adolescent smartphone use in schools.”Prof Miranda Pallan, one of the report’s authors, said: “It is unknown how a statutory ban may impact on the staff burden of dealing with phones.“There will be different ways of implementing a statutory ban such as handing in phones, pouches, or complete site bans, which will each have a different impact on staff time and school resources.“Even with a ban, there will be breaches that will need to be dealt with, which will still place a burden on staff time.”Data from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology shows 99.9% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools have mobile phone policies. However, 58% of secondary school pupils reported phones being used without permission in some lessons, rising to 65% among key stage four pupils.The NASUWT general secretary, Matt Wrack, said: “From interrupted learning and reduced concentration to confrontations when staff ask pupils to hand over devices, the situation has reached a critical point. Schools cannot be expected to manage this alone while the government offers no meaningful support.”Sarah Hannafin, the head of policy at the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “We recognise that effective enforcement activity can be time-consuming, but as parents’ and pupils’ expectations about being able to access their phone in school hours change, and bans become the norm, we hope the need for such activity will be reduced.”Pepe Di’Iasio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We would like to see funding support provided to schools for the safe and secure storage of mobile phones, such as storage lockers or locked pouches.”A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Mobile phones have no place in classrooms. Without the distraction, children learn better and teachers can teach.“Our guidance helps schools implement phone-free policies effectively, with practical case studies showing how schools across the country are making this work without it becoming a burden on staff time.”