Campaigners calling for school smartphone ban to meet Education Secretary

Campaigners demanding a total ban on phones in Scotland’s schools will meet Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth on Thursday.

Parents in the group Smartphone Free Childhood, along with child mental health experts, want to see the Scottish Government introduce urgent legislation to implement a nationwide ban.

It comes as one of the group’s leaders, Sam Rice, insisted that pupils having mobile phones in schools carries “clear and present risks”.

The Scottish Government currently says it is for local councils to decide their own policies on phones in schools – with Ms Gilruth insisting previously that current school guidance means head teachers “are already empowered to carry out mobile phone bans”.

But campaigners claim this stance means policies are inconsistent, saying that “almost all” schools  permit pupils to have phones.

Guidance issued by the UK Government for schools south of the border “prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime”.

Mr Rice, a regional leader for Smartphone Free Childhood in Scotland, said: “Smartphones are not just a distraction in school; they are the cause of serious safeguarding harm.”

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s meeting with the Education Secretary, he added: “We hear constantly about cyberbullying; children being photographed and filmed without consent – and videos posted online.

“We know about children being shown explicit and violent videos by other children. These incidents can be life-changingly harmful and can require serious intervention and counselling.

“We still don’t take online harms seriously enough. And what happens online can often lead to real physical harm such as suicide, grooming, sexual abuse, physical abuse and even young people being killed.

“Dangerous online trends and challenges have also led to children being injured and killed.”

He added that even those parents who “try to protect” their children by not giving them a smartphone risk their child being “exposed to all those risks from other children’s devices” when they go to school.

He added: “Headteachers just tell us that they are following local councils guidance, which is in line with the government’s guidance, and nobody is willing to take responsibility or act”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “National guidance on mobile phones makes clear that we support full bans in schools, but that we trust Scotland’s headteachers to take the steps they deem appropriate for their schools.

“A number of councils, including Moray and Edinburgh, have introduced full bans, taking active steps in line with the guidance.

“While the regulation of the internet is reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government has been clear in its calls for greater controls to reduce online harms to children.

“We have engaged with UK ministers and Ofcom to strengthen online protections for children.

“The Education Secretary recognises the concern around this issue and welcomes the opportunity to discuss this with Smartphone Free Childhood.”