For teachers and parents worried about their teenagers’ smartphone use, banning phones in schools may seem like an obvious solution.
But a study now suggests that school phone bans don’t actually produce any positive effects.
In the first study of its kind, researchers from the University of Birmingham looked at 1,227 students from 30 schools across England – 20 of which had restrictions on using phones during school time.
Their analysis found no connection between phone bans and higher grades, improved mental wellbeing, or better physical health.
However, this may be because banning phones fails to reduce the total amount of time children spend on smartphones and social media throughout the week.
The bans only succeeded in reducing smartphone and social media use by 40 minutes and 30 minutes per day respectively, as students facing bans made up the difference at home.
Senior author Professor Miranda Pallan says: ‘Our study suggests that school policies are not the silver bullet for preventing the detrimental impacts of smartphone and social media use.
‘The paper shows that restrictive policies on recreational phone use in schools do not lead to better outcomes among students, but that addressing overall phone use should be a priority for improving health and wellbeing among adolescents.’
A new study has poured cold water on the idea that phone bans in schools are beneficial for children as it shows no connection between bans and improved grades or better mental health (stock image)
School phone bans are often presented by their advocates as a solution to the distracting and detrimental effects of phone use in schools.
Some schools simply require that phones be left in bags or lockers during breaks and at lunch while others have introduced lockable pouches which seal away students’ smartphones until released by a member of staff.
Last year, one of the UK’s largest school groups, the Ormiston Academies Trust, imposed a ban on smartphones for all of its 35,000 students.
At the time, the group’s chief executive Tom Rees cited a ‘clear correlation’ between mental health issues and heavy use of social media.
Likewise, Katharine Birbalsingh, headmistress and co-founder of Michaela Community School has called for a total ban on smartphones for children under 16.
However, this study appears to pour cold water on the idea that having phones in school is connected to detrimental outcomes.
The researchers collected data from each of the students in the study for more than 12 months, measuring their mental health and wellbeing alongside physical factors like sleep and exercise.
The study used a measure called the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale to determine participants’ well-being and assessed the students’ levels of depression and anxiety.
Katharine Birbalsingh (pictured), headmistress and co-founder of Michaela Community School, is part of a group of 30 educationalists calling on the UK government to ban smartphones in schools across Britain. Advocates for a ban typically point to a perception that phone use in schools reduces grades and increases mental health problems
After more than a year of restrictions, the data showed no difference between the students in schools with bans compared to those in schools without.
However, the researchers say they are not opposed to schools banning phones.
Professor Pallan told MailOnline: ‘We would not suggest that schools should refrain from implementing rules around phone use, as there are likely to be other benefits of doing this that we did not assess in our study.’
Likewise, the study found that the amount of time teenagers spend on their smartphones and social media does have a big impact.
Lead author Dr Victoria Goodyear says: ‘We did find a link between more time spent on phones and social media and worse outcomes, with worse mental wellbeing and mental health outcomes, less physical activity and poorer sleep, lower educational attainment and a greater level of disruptive classroom behaviour.’
Overall, students spent between four and six hours using smartphones each day on average but the difference between schools with and without bans was small.
Dr Goodyear says: ‘This suggests that reducing this time spent on phones is an important focus, but we need to do more than focus on schools alone, and consider phone use within and outside of school, across a whole day and the whole week.’
The news comes as the debate over phone bans in schools has become an increasingly contentious political issue.
In the first study of its kind, researchers compared students from schools with and without phone bans. They found that bans did not decrease overall phone use by a large amount. This suggests that bans alone are not an effective measure
Ofcom data shows that most children receive their first mobile phone between the ages of 10 and 11, sparking concerns that children are being exposed to harmful social media from a younger age
The Conservatives have been especially vocal in their support for a full ban on mobile phones in classrooms amid fears they damage educational standards.
The Conservatives are tabling an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to end pupils’ use of mobile phones and other devices during school days.
Under former prime minister Rishi Sunak, the government issued non-statutory guidance to schools in England intended to stop the use of mobile phones during break and lunch periods in schools, as well as in lessons.
The Tories now say their policies didn’t go far enough and want this ban to be written into law, citing ‘growing evidence’ of the damage caused by social media.
However, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has rejected the suggestion as a ‘headline grabbing gimmick’.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Phillipson said: ‘I agree that phones have no place in the classroom. It is entirely right that schools take firm action to stop their use, and I know that that is what the vast majority of schools already do.’
A spokesperson for the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology told MailOnline: ‘Teachers already have clear guidance to manage phone use effectively in a way that works for their schools.
‘Our focus is on keeping young people safe, while also benefitting from the latest technology. By the summer, robust new protections for children will be in force through the Online Safety Act to protect them from harmful content and ensure they have an age-appropriate experience online.’
