Digital Education Resource Archive

Schools’ response to knife crime in schools : September 2025

 
 
 
  
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1. Introduction 
 
We’re reviewing how school inspections work in Scotland - and we want your views. 
This consultation is a key part of our system-wide review. It will help us strengthen 
inspection as a driver of improvement and public assurance about the quality of 
education. 
Your feedback will shape how we make inspections fairer, more transparent, and 
more focused on what matters most for children and young people. 
 
 
2. What is the review doing? 
 
We’re reviewing how school inspections work in Scotland and we’re putting people’s 
voices at the heart of that process.  In the first phase of the review, HM Inspectors 
engaged with over 1,300 adult stakeholders.  This included senior leaders, teachers 
and other staff that work in schools.  We also engaged with local authority staff, 
professional associations and staff working in national education bodies.  Our 
engagement has included: 
 
• over 25 engagement sessions with a range of education practitioners. 
• four national online events involving around 550 teachers and practitioners. 
• a questionnaire – with 169 submissions received. 
• the establishment of a Stakeholder Forum with representation from different 
parts of the education system representing teachers, local authorities, 
children, young people and parents. 
 
We asked broad questions about what works well in current school inspection 
models, where challenges or unintended consequences exist, and how these could 
be overcome. 
 
We also engaged directly with children and young people as well as organisations 
which represent their views:  
 
• HM Inspectors have met with over 500 children and young people from 
different types of schools across Scotland 
• Young people helped us design workshop materials to make sure we asked 
the right questions. 
 
Children and young people told us some of the things about school and inspection 
that are important to them. 
 
Our initial engagement shows that people have a range of views about inspection. 
For example, there are differing and varied opinions about the use of grades and 
how often school inspection should happen. These insights have shaped the 
development of this public consultation.    
  
During the first phase of the review, the focus of engagement was aimed largely at 
the education sector. This consultation aims to explore key areas in more depth, and 
to ensure reach beyond the education sector, including from parents and carers. We 
want to ensure a wide range of views and experiences are represented and 
contribute to shaping how school inspection evolves in the future. 
 
 
3. What is the purpose of school inspections? 
 
 
The Education (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent on 6 August 2025 and is now an 
act of the Scottish Parliament. 
 
The Education (Scotland) Act 2025 sets out the purposes of inspection:  
 
• recognising effective practice adopted by relevant educational establishments,  
• promoting improvement in the quality of education in Scotland, including by—  
(i) supporting relevant educational establishments to improve by—  
(A) identifying areas for improvement,  
(B) establishing where support may be required to make improvements,   
(C) sharing effective practice,  
(ii) sharing evidence to inform the development of education policy 
• providing assurance to the public that the quality of education provided in 
relevant educational establishments is being assessed and that 
establishments are being held to account accordingly. 
 
Further details about the package of measures set out in legislation can be found in 
the Education (Scotland) Act 2025. 
 
 
 
  
4. We want your views 
 
To fully understand what’s working in the current inspection system, and where 
improvements could be made, we want to hear your views. The consultation invites 
people to think about aspects of the school inspection process. 
 
The areas that we would like you to consider cover the following themes: 
 
1. People involved in inspection 
 
2. Inspection frequency and selection  
 
3. Use of grades in inspection 
 
4. Notification of inspection 
 
5. Pre-inspection 
 
6. Design and content of a school inspection framework 
 
7. Reporting on the outcome of inspections 
 
8. Inspecting nursery classes 
 
9. Inspection follow-up 
 
5. Who can complete the consultation surveys? 
 
Everyone, including children and young people can complete the consultation. We 
especially want to hear from those with experience of inspection and from those with 
an interest in how inspection works: children, young people and adult learners, 
parents/carers, teachers, practitioners, leaders and managers. 
 
A dedicated version of the consultation, ‘School inspections are changing: shape 
what’s next: the views of children and young people’, has been designed to be 
age-appropriate and accessible for children and young people. Secondary school-
aged young people may also choose to complete the wider education and public 
survey, rather than the children and young people version. 
 
Running alongside the online survey, we are continuing to engage with children, 
young people, and education partners to explore key themes in more depth.  
 
 
6. Where do I find the survey? 
 
We are inviting responses to this consultation using the Scottish Government’s 
consultation hub, Citizen Space.  
 
The wider survey, School inspections are changing: shape what’s next’, can be 
accessed here:  
https://consult.gov.scot/education-scotland/school_inspections_are_changing 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The children and young people survey, ‘School inspections are changing: the 
views of children and young people’ can be accessed here:  
https://consult.gov.scot/education-scotland/school_inspections_are_changing_cyp 
 
 
 
You can save and return to your responses while the consultation is still open. The 
survey will close on Wednesday, 26 November 2025. 
 
 
  
7. Accessibility 
If you are not able to complete the survey but want to share your thoughts, we also 
welcome alternative formats. This is particularly important for contributions from 
children and young people. Please use the question template provided on the 
consultation hubs on Citizen Space. If you would prefer to respond to the 
consultation in an alternative format, please send your submission to the following 
email address: SchoolInspectionConsultation@educationscotland.gov.scot 
 
 
8. Privacy and Data Use 
 
 
Please note: you are not required to provide your name or any personal information 
that will identify you. The ‘About You’ section in the online survey includes optional 
demographic questions to help us understand the range of people and perspectives 
taking part in this consultation. This consultation is being conducted in accordance 
with data protection laws and ethical research standards. 
If you chose to respond to this consultation in a different way (not through the Citizen 
Space website), you can also complete the optional ‘Respondent Information Form’.  
All respondents should be aware that Education Scotland is subject to the Freedom 
of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and must consider any request made to it under 
the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation. 
 
9. What happens next? 
 
After the consultation closes, all online survey responses and any alternative 
submissions will be analysed along with a range of other available information and 
evidence.  
A report summarising the findings of this consultation will be published.  
These findings will inform our next steps. These will be shaped by what we have heard 
through this consultation, ongoing engagement and the priorities of His Majesty’s Chief 
Inspector of Education in Scotland. 
 
Separate impact assessments will be carried out as appropriate and published in 
due course.  
 
  
10. Need help? 
 
For further information on how we handle your response, please see our privacy 
policy.  
 
The purpose of inspection is set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 2025. 
 
If you have any other questions, comments or complaints about how this 
consultation has been conducted please contact:  
 
SchoolInspectionConsultation@educationscotland.gov.scot 
 
 
 
  
 


School inspections are changing : shape what's next (consultation)

Elitist Britain 2025 : The educational backgrounds

of Britain’s leading people

Long, Robert

Roberts, Nerys

 
 
commonslibrary.parliament.uk 
1 Overview 
Recent years have seen a significant rise in the number of school exclusions in 
England. Research has found that exclusion numbers are highest among 
vulnerable children, those from less affluent backgrounds, and children with 
special educational needs.   
There has also been a rise in concerns about pupil behaviour since the covid 
pandemic. Research has found the pupils who are excluded from school can 
have worse future prospects, in physical and mental health as well as 
employment. 
The government announced new RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hubs in May 
2025 to address related issues, and has said that the schools white paper 
expected in autumn 2025 will include plans to tackle bad behaviour. 
This short briefing sets out some key statistics on the rise in exclusions in 
recent years, as well as some recent related research and government policy. 
It does not aim to be exhaustive but instead to outline the extent of recent 
increase and its potential causes. 
Education policy is a devolved matter and this briefing relates to 
developments in England. 
 
 
Research Briefing 
11 September 2025 
Number 10343 
 
By Robert Long, 
Nerys Roberts 
 
School exclusions in England 
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
2 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
2 Statistics 
2.1 Suspension and permanent exclusion rates 
have been rising sharply 
In the 2023/24 academic year, the overall rate of permanent exclusions in 
England was 0.13 per hundred pupils, or 0.13%. There were 10,900 permanent 
exclusions in this academic year. Between 2006/07 and the early 2010s, the 
overall rate followed a downward trend reaching a plateau at 0.06% in 
2013/14, and then beginning to steadily increase in the years before the 
coronavirus pandemic.1 This upward trend has continued post-pandemic. 
Permanent exclusion rates are much higher for secondary schools, than for 
primary and special schools. The rates are highest for pupils in school years 
eight to ten – normally the second year of secondary school to the first year of 
the GCSE phase.2  
 
 
1  Department for Education, Academic year 2023/24, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in 
England, updated 1 September 2025, custom table; Department for Education, Permanent and 
fixed-period exclusions in England: 2008 to 2009, published 29 July 2010, “national tables” csv file 
2  As above, custom table 
 
Source:  Department for Education, Academic year 2023/24, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, updated 1 September 2025, 
custom table; Department for Education, Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2008 to 2009, published 29 July 2010, 
“national tables” csv file 
Academic years, state-funded schools in England
Secondary school permanent exclusion rates are higher than for primary and special schools
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
2007/08 2009/10 2011/12 2013/14 2015/16 2017/18 2019/20 2021/22 2023/24
Special
Primary
New methodology 
introduced
Rate
affected by  
pandemic
Secondary
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
3 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
The most common reason recorded for permanent exclusion was persistent 
disruptive behaviour, accounting for around 39% of all recorded reasons.3 
More than one reason can be recorded for each permanent exclusion.  
2.2 Which groups of pupils are more at risk of 
permanent exclusion?  
Some groups of pupils have much higher exclusion rates than others. In 
2023/24, the following groups were more likely to experience permanent 
exclusion:  
• Boys – with a rate of 0.18% compared to 0.08% for girls 
• Those eligible for free school meals (FSM) – with a rate of 0.33% 
compared to 0.06% for those not eligible. Nearly two-thirds of all 
permanently-excluded pupils were eligible for FSM.  
• Those from particular ethnic groups. For example, Gypsy/ Roma pupils 
had the highest permanent exclusion rate of any group – at 0.46%. 
Chinese pupils have the lowest rate, at 0.01. Small absolute numbers of 
Gypsy/ Roma pupils, however, mean less certainty around the data.  
• Pupils receiving SEN support (rate of 0.41%) and pupils with education, 
health and care (EHC) plans (rate of 0.26%), compared to those with no 
identified special educational needs (rate of 0.08%). More than half of 
permanently excluded pupils had identified SEN. 4  
Geographical variation 
There are differences in permanent exclusion rates by area, which may be 
partly explained by other differences in pupil cohorts between areas – for 
example, higher proportions of pupils who are disadvantaged and therefore 
more likely to be excluded, or higher proportions with identified SEN. In 
2023/24: 
• The overall rate was lowest in London, at 0.07% 
 
3  Department for Education, Academic year 2023/24, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in 
England, updated 1 September 2025, main text 
4  Department for Education, Academic year 2023/24, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in 
England, updated 1 September 2025, custom table 
 
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
4 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
• It was more than three times higher than this in the region with the 
highest rate, the North East, at 0.25%. 
• Overall exclusion rates by local authority ranged from nil in Milton 
Keynes to 0.40% in Middlesborough.5  
2.3 Suspensions 
As for permanent exclusions, suspension rates have also followed an upward 
trend in recent years, having been relatively flat since the 2006/07 academic 
year until just before the pandemic.6 The suspension rate in 2023/24 was 
11.31%, or equivalent to 1,131 suspensions per 10,000 pupils, up from 5.36% in 
2018/19. A pupil may be suspended more than once during an academic year. 
 
3 Rising exclusions: who is affected and 
possible causes 
In September 2024, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published 
the report Who is Losing Learning? which highlighted rising numbers of 
exclusions and made the case for reducing these levels.7 
The report identified trends among the exclusions numbers: 
• Students who receive free school meals are far more likely to be 
permanently excluded or suspended than their peers 
• The poorest areas of England have the highest rates of lost learning 
through unauthorised absences and suspensions 
• Children from some ethnic minority backgrounds are disproportionately 
being placed in alternative provision 
• Children with mental health needs are three times as likely to have to 
move schools than their peers 
 
5  Department for Education, Academic year 2023/24, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in 
England, updated 1 September 2025, custom table 
6  Department for Education, Academic year 2023/24, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in 
England, updated 1 September 2025, custom table 
7  IPPR, Who is losing learning?: The case for reducing exclusions across mainstream schools, 
September 2024 
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
5 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
• Children interacting with social services because their lives are unsafe 
are permanently excluded at eight times the national rate 
• Children with school-identified SEN are five times more likely to be 
permanently excluded than their peers without SEN.8 
A January 2024 report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Suspending 
Reality, similarly noted that “vulnerable pupils are markedly overrepresented 
in these statistics.” Part 2 of the report, which explored the reasons behind 
the rise in exclusions, found: 
• a sharp rise in complex needs amongst pupils since the pandemic, 
meaning fewer pupils seem able to engage within a mainstream 
classroom setting 
• Worsening mental health issues and the cost of living crisis had 
exacerbated those complex needs and resulting behavioural issues, 
particularly for those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, with 
many mainstream schools not equipped to identify need  
• Current attainment and accountability metrics for mainstream schools 
and trusts fail to incentivise inclusive practice  
• Rising rates of exclusion means that alternative provision (AP) risks being 
overwhelmed  
• Partnership working between local authorities, multi-academy trusts 
(MATs) and the AP sector was not sufficiently collaborative.9  
In March 2024, Teacher Tapp published a survey of teachers which found 
rising concerns about behaviour at schools: 
• Respondents saying they were ‘not concerned at all’ about behaviour 
affecting learning in secondary school dropping from 64% in February 
2019 down to 52% in March 2024. 
• At primary level, 44% of respondents said they were not concerned at 
all, compared to 60% in February 2019.10 
In April 2025, the NASUWT teachers’ union said that its survey of teachers had 
found that in the previous year: 
 
8  IPPR, Revealed: School exclusions and suspensions rise by a fifth last year, finds new report, 5 
September 2024 
9  Centre for Social Justice, Suspending Reality Part 2: Exclusion rates and inclusive practice in multi-
academy trusts, January 2024, p5 
10  Teacher Tapp, Behaviour, Ofsted and fining parents, 12 March 2024 
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
6 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
• 20% of teachers surveyed have been hit or punched by pupils and 38% 
had been shoved or barged, with 25% of teachers experiencing pupil 
violence at least once a term 
• More than 60% of threats of assault with a weapon come from pupils of 
primary school age 
• 95% of teachers experienced rudeness from pupils, with more than 25% 
suffering verbal abuse at least several times a week 
• 62% of teachers experienced stress as a result of pupil aggression, and 
52% subsequently considered leaving the teaching profession altogether 
• 70% of teachers do not believe they have the resources, support and 
knowledge to meet the behaviour needs of all their pupils, and 78.8% say 
the number of pupils who do not receive adequate support has increased 
• 76% of teachers say that pupil behaviour issues could be alleviated if 
affected pupils were moved to specialist facilities, but places are often 
scarce11 
A report from the University of Oxford published in May 2025 identified that 
school exclusions and suspensions “have profound negative medium- and 
long-term consequences for affected pupils’ future job prospects, physical 
and mental health, and behavioural outcomes.”12 
4 Government action 
4.1 Government guidance  
Statutory guidance is in place relating to School suspensions and permanent 
exclusions. 
Separate guidance is also in place on behaviour in schools, to support 
schools in delivering their behaviour policies. 
4.2 Recent policy announcements and schools 
white paper 
In May 2025, the Department for Education announced new RISE Attendance 
and Behaviour Hubs “to support hundreds of schools in tackling absence and 
 
11  NASUWT, Teachers declare pupil behaviour emergency, 18 April 2025 
12  University of Oxford, New report calls for action on school exclusion in England, 2 May 2025 
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
7 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
poor behaviour.” The hubs would “work with the 90 lead schools to develop 
and support networks, and once fully implemented will support around 5000 
schools.”13 A programme of behaviour hubs was also in place under the 
previous Conservative government. 
In August 2025, the government announced that 800 schools would have 
access to the new hubs from the start of the new term.14 
In the same announcement, the government said that the schools white paper 
that is planned to be published in autumn 2025 would include the 
government’s plans to tackle bad behaviour.15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13  Department for Education, How we’re helping children and teachers with their mental health and 
wellbeing, 16 May 2025 
14  Department for Education, Government to crackdown on bad behaviour and boost attendance, 31 
August 2025 
15  Department for Education, Government to crackdown on bad behaviour and boost attendance, 31 
August 2025 
 
 
 
 
School exclusions in England 
8 Commons Library Research Briefing, 11 September 2025 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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School exclusions in England

Subject Benchmark Statement : Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics : April 2025

Early Years Teacher Degree Apprenticeship : Training Provider Guidance : 24 March 2025

 
 
commonslibrary.parliament.uk 
Use of mobile phones by children in schools, and whether they should be 
prohibited, has been a subject of regular debate in recent years. This short 
briefing provides an overview of the current position in England, recent 
discussion in parliament, and introduces some relevant research. 
Schools policy is a devolved matter, and this briefing focuses on debate in 
England, but an overview is included of the position in the other countries of 
the UK. 
1 Current position in England 
1.1 Guidance for schools 
There is no statute or regulation prohibiting the use of mobile phones in 
schools in England, and schools have always been able to prohibit mobile 
phone use as part of their behaviour policies.  
In February 2024, the Department for Education published non-statutory 
guidance that said schools should develop a mobile phone policy that 
prohibits the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar 
functionality during the school day, including at break times.1 
 
1  Department for Education, Mobile phones in schools, February 2024 
 
 
Research Briefing 
9 April 2025 
Number 10241 
 
By Robert Long 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
 
 
 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
2 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 April 2025 
While the guidance on mobile phones in schools is not statutory, the 
government expects schools to prohibit the use of mobiles as part of their 
behaviour policies.2 
Schools may develop their own policies to implement this rule. The guidance 
suggests the following systems that could be adopted: 
• No mobile phones allowed on the school premises 
• Mobile phones handed in on arrival 
• Mobile phones kept in secure location, which pupils do not access 
throughout the school day 
• Pupils may keep their phones but they are “never used, seen or heard”  
Schools may adapt their policies where necessary for the needs or 
circumstances of specific pupils. 
Position in other countries of the UK 
Scotland 
In August 2024, the Scottish Government published Mobile phones: guidance 
for Scotland's schools. The introduction to the guidance by the Scottish 
Cabinet Secretary for Education, Jenny Gilruth, said: 
The Scottish Government does not intend to dictate approaches to our 
headteachers – they know better than anyone the specific approach which will 
work best in their school. But we are making clear with this guidance that our 
headteachers are empowered to take action up to and including a whole 
school bans. This Government supports Scotland’s schools in taking the 
necessary steps to tackle the negative effects associated with mobile phone 
use; to enhance outcomes for all of Scotland’s young people.3 
On 12 December 2023, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education had made 
a statement to the Scottish Parliament on literacy and numeracy which said 
the Scottish Government planned to draw up the guidance supporting bans 
on use of mobile phones in schools. This was in response to the 
2023 Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR), which identified mobile 
phones as a cause of worsening behaviour in schools. 
Wales  
Lynne Neagle, the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Education, responded to a 
Senedd petition in January 2025 calling for the Welsh Government to ban 
smartphones in all schools in Wales with exemptions for exceptional 
 
2  Department for Education, Behaviour in schools: advice for headteachers and school staff, February 
2024, provides wider information  
3  Scottish Government, Mobile phones: guidance for Scotland's schools, August 2024 
 
 
 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
3 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 April 2025 
circumstances. She said that “often, the biggest challenge for schools around 
mobile phones and social media is not what goes on in school or during 
school hours, but what happens outside of the school environment,” and that: 
When setting their mobile phone and behaviour policies, we encourage schools 
to consider the effect mobiles could have on learning and learner wellbeing. 
Where headteachers consider the use of mobile phones in school is having a 
detrimental impact on learners, they already have the authority to ban or 
restrict their use including other electronic devices such as tablets if they 
choose to do so. Schools are best placed to make this decision, reflecting on 
the way they use technology within a school setting and the needs of their 
learners.4 
The response also said the Welsh Government would publish a behaviour 
toolkit to support schools, including mobile phone usage. 
In March 2025, the Senedd’s Petitions Committee published a report which did 
not support an outright ban on smartphones in schools, but instead called for 
more support for schools to set their own restrictions.5 
Senedd Research have published a range of related information to the 
petition. 
Northern Ireland 
In September 2024, Northern Ireland’s Department of Education published 
Guidance for Schools on Pupils’ Personal Use of Mobile Phones and other 
Similar Devices During the School Day.   
The guidance states that schools set their own policies and procedures on the 
use of mobile phones and this is legally a matter for individual Boards of 
Governors and principals. 
Nonetheless, the guidance from the Department of Education “advises that 
the personal use of pupil mobile phones and other similar devices should be 
restricted during the school day for the vast majority of pupils. This includes 
during lunch and recreational periods.”6 
1.2 Education Committee report (2024) 
Shortly before the dissolution of parliament for the 2024 general election, the 
House of Commons Education Committee published a report, Screen time: 
impacts on education and wellbeing, which said “it is clear that a ban can 
 
4  Senedd, Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education – Response to Petition (PDF), January 2025 
5  Senedd, Smartphone “ban” is not the right call for schools, 12 March 2025 
6  Northern Ireland Department of Education, Circular 2024/14 - Guidance for Schools on Pupils’ 
Personal Use of Mobile Phones and other Similar Devices During the School Day, September 2024 
 
 
 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
4 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 April 2025 
have a positive impact on the mental health and educational outcomes of 
children.”7 
The committee recommended that if the new guidance had not proven 
effective in twelve months, a statutory ban on phones in schools should be 
implemented.8 
The government has not yet responded to the committee’s report. 
1.3 Recent parliamentary debate 
During Committee Stage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-25, 
an Opposition amendment was moved to legislate for a ban on mobile phones 
in schools. 
Neil O’Brien (Con) moved new clause 48 to the bill, which would have required 
all schools in England to ban the use of mobile telephones, and other devices 
with similar functionality, during the school day. 
Neil O’Brien cited evidence of widespread concerns about mental health 
among young people, particularly relating to social media. Referring to 
existing non-statutory guidance, he said: 
The idea that guidance has done the trick and that there is no longer a 
problem to solve is contradicted by the Department [for Education]’s evidence. 
Work by the company Teacher Tapp, also known as School Surveys, similarly 
finds very high levels of problems and no signs of progress.9 
He said that a ban, rather than guidance, was necessary to support schools, 
and also to reset social norms about children and smartphones.10 
Munira Wilson (LD), said that she was becoming convinced of the need for a 
ban, which “would give headteachers and teaching staff the clout they need 
with parents who particularly want their children to have their phones during 
the school day” and ensure resources from the government for enforcement.11 
Damian Hinds (Con) spoke in support of the new clause, and clarified that it 
did not apply outside of school time (such as on school journeys) or preclude 
 
7  Education Committee, Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing, Fourth report of session 
2023-24, 25 May 2024, HC 118, p4 
8  Education Committee, Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing, Fourth report of session 
2023-24, 25 May 2024, HC 118, p5 
9  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c552 
10  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c553 
11  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c553-554 
 
 
 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
5 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 April 2025 
exceptions for children with particular requirements. He said that a ban “is 
not a panacea—far from it—but it will make a difference in schools.”12 
Amanda Martin (Lab) said that making decisions about this matter at school 
level would “allow for the reasonable use of phones and technology, and it 
would allow for a balanced approach to technology.”13 
The parliamentary under-secretary of state, Stephen Morgan (Lab), spoke in 
favour of decisions on mobile phones being made at school level, adding: 
New clause 48 lacks the flexibility required to accommodate some individual 
needs, such as a mobile phone as an adaptation for a disabled child. We know 
that schools are already prohibiting the use of mobile phones, including 
through outright bans. Even before guidance was published, around 97% of all 
schools in England had policies restricting mobile phone use in some way.14 
The new clause was put to a vote and defeated (by 10 votes to 6).15  
The issue was debated again during Report Stage of the bill in the Commons. 
The Opposition tabled a new clause that would, among other things, have 
required all schools in England to have a policy prohibiting the use and 
carrying of mobile phones and other devices by pupils during the school day. 
The new clause was put to a voted and defeated (by 317 votes to 159).16 
The bill is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 1 May 
2025. 
1.4 Related research and reports 
The use of mobile phones in schools, and the impacts of phones and social 
media on young people more widely, has been the subject of regular debate 
in recent years. This section covers some relevant research and articles 
discussing related topics. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but to provide 
an introduction to the relevant issues.  
• The House of Lords Library published a briefing on Mobile phones in 
schools: Mandating a ban? (November 2024) discussing these issues. 
• The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has a briefing on 
Screen use and health in young people (2020) which provides an 
overview of how children/young people use screens, the opportunities 
 
12  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c560 
13  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c561 
14  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c562-563 
15  PBC Deb 11 February 2025 c5632-564 
16  HC Deb 17 March 2025 c116-119 
 
 
 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
6 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 April 2025 
and risks of this use, evidence on the possible effects on health and 
development, and evidence on ways to support healthy screen use. 
• A House of Lords Library article written during the pandemic, Covid-19: 
Lockdown measures and children’s screen time (2020), considered the 
impact of lockdown. 
• The Science and Technology Committee’s report on the Impact of social 
media and screen-use on young people’s health (2019) raised concerns 
about the impact of social media and said that mobile phones could be 
both a help and a hindrance to learning. 
• UNESCO’s 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report - Technology in 
education: A tool on whose terms? (PDF), published in July 2023, said 
that “mere proximity to a mobile device was found to distract students 
and to have a negative impact on learning.” 
• The Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR) published in 
December 2023 found there has been “a general deterioration in the 
behaviour of pupils in primary and secondary schools in Scotland since 
2016”. In secondary schools, the behaviour most commonly reported as 
having the greatest negative impact on the learning experience was 
students using and looking at mobile phones and tablets when they 
shouldn’t be. The BISSR said: 
While the increasing use of mobile phones and social media was identified as 
an area of concern in the 2016 research, this type of behaviour seems to have 
increased substantially in the intervening years and was mentioned commonly 
among by school staff and LA representatives. Primary schools reported fewer 
issues and concerns around mobile phone and social media use, partly due to 
the ages of the pupils, though primary school staff did on occasion speak 
about mobile phone use among upper primary pupils. In secondary schools, 
mobile phone use was described as a significant challenge across almost all 
schools visited. Pupils’ use of mobile phones in class was described “a bane” 
and a source of considerable disruption, with teachers asking pupils to put 
their phones away potentially leading to conflict from which more serious 
disruptive behaviour could escalate. […] 
Social media was also highlighted as a negative influence on pupil behaviour. 
LA representatives and school staff described instances of pupils videoing 
fights and incidents among pupils, taking pictures of staff members during 
classes and pupils under toilet cubicle doors, before sharing them on social 
media. The use of social media in bullying incidents was also outlined, with 
school staff describing the way in which social media was inescapable as 
young people had their phones with them at all times and were accessing 
social media late into the night.17 
• A 2024 OECD report, Students, digital devices and success, found that on 
average two-thirds of 15-year-olds across OECD countries reported being 
distracted using digital devices, including phones, in most or every 
 
17  Scottish Government, Behaviour in Scottish schools: research report 2023, November 2023 
 
 
 
 
Mobile phones in schools (England) 
7 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 April 2025 
maths class. It said that recent findings from the Programme for 
International Student Assessment (PISA) survey indicated “a negative 
correlation between leisurely digital device use at school and academic 
performance.”18 
However, researchers at King’s College London who analysed the PISA 
data identified “a curious and contradictory finding” that when gender, 
social class and school behaviour were controlled for, the data showed 
that students in schools with phone bans had lower achievement across 
their PISA test scores than those in schools that allowed phone use.19 
• A World Health Organisation study on Teens, screens and mental health 
in 2024, drawing on a survey of young people aged 11, 13 and 15 across 44 
countries and regions in Europe, central Asia and Canada, found: 
– More than 1 in 10 adolescents (11%) showed signs of problematic 
social media behaviour, struggling to control their use and 
experiencing negative consequences. Girls reported higher levels of 
problematic social media use than boys (13% vs 9%). 
– Over a third (36%) of young people reported constant contact with 
friends online, with the highest rates among 15-year-old girls (44%). 
– A third (34%) of adolescents played digital games daily, with more 
than 1 in 5 (22%) playing for at least 4 hours on days when they 
engage in gaming. 
– 12% of adolescents were at risk of problematic gaming, with boys 
more likely than girls to show signs of problematic gaming (16% vs 
7%).20 
• An article in the Lancet in 2025 found that there was “no evidence that 
restrictive school policies are associated with overall phone and social 
media use or better mental wellbeing in adolescents,” although more 
generally the study found associations between increased time spent on 
phones and social media and lower mental wellbeing.21 
A YouGov survey in February 2024 found that 79% of adults in Great Britain 
agreed that mobile phones probably or definitely should be banned during 
the school day. 
 
 
18  OECD, Students, digital devices and success, May 2024 
19  BERA, Mobile phone bans in schools: Impact on achievement, 15 February 2024 
20  World Health Organisation, Teens, screens and mental health, 25 September 2024 
21  Goodyear and others, School phone policies and their association with mental wellbeing, phone 
use, and social media use (SMART Schools): a cross-sectional observational study, Lancet, April 
2025 
 
 
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