Ban phones in schools to protect children from online dangers, parents urge

Scotland’s Education Secretary must urgently ban phones in schools to protect children from online dangers such as viewing beheading videos, parents have urged.

The Smartphone Free Childhood (SFC) group is meeting Jenny Gilruth at Holyrood on Thursday to press for an immediate ban.

It claims Scotland is falling behind the rest of the world and cannot afford to wait before legislating for new restrictions.

Speaking outside Parliament ahead of the roundtable, Andy Williamson, of the SFC, said large numbers of children are witnessing disturbing content on social media, including beheading videos.

“Our message today is really simple,” he told the Press Association. “We want legislation to ban smartphones.

“Scotland is behind everywhere else in the world. It’s really important we safeguard children and provide learning environments where children can really thrive.”

Mr Williamson, from Edinburgh, said action is needed now to restrict smartphones, which he said are “genuinely dangerous devices”.

John McGill, a regional leader for the group in Dumfries and Galloway, said the current system where individual councils can decide whether to impose a mobile phone ban has created a “postcode lottery” for children’s safety.

Ms Gilruth has previously said the current guidance means head teachers “are already empowered to carry out mobile phone bans”.

Mr McGill said the “strength of feeling” for a ban at a national level has shifted.

He added: “I think there is a significant level of emotion in Scotland off the back of what is happening in the House of Lords, off the back of what’s happened in English schools, and I think parents are becoming wise, and teachers are becoming wise, to the harms of smartphones in our education system – it’s hurting children.”

Hannah Oertel, who founded the group Delay Smartphones, said phones are “the most addictive, distracting devices ever created”.

Asked if she has concerns about her own children, she said: “Yeah, absolutely and my own children have been exposed to things on other people’s phones.

“It’s something that affects everyone. This isn’t just something that happens in particular schools or particular areas.

“This is on every child’s phone. It’s very, very difficult to set up a phone to be really safe for children.”

Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal, who is sponsoring the roundtable at Parliament, said the Scottish Government must listen to parents and experts.

“We already know and have heard many times that mobile phones affect children in different ways,” she told PA.

“There could be mental health issues, there could be behavioural issues – and we know there is a lot of violence in our schools.

“Children need to be safeguarded.

“The Scottish Government needs to listen to these experts and ban mobile phones in schools.”

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “I’m grateful to the Smartphone Free Childhood group for the constructive meeting today. It’s very important that we listen to the concerns raised by parents and hear their experiences of how education is delivered at their children’s schools.

“Our national guidance on mobile phones makes clear that we support full bans of phones in schools, and I trust that headteachers can take the appropriate steps for their pupils. We are already seeing a number of councils introducing full bans in line with our guidance.

“The UK Government is responsible for the regulation of the internet and we have been clear in our calls for greater controls to reduce online harms to children.”