Tory MPs glued to mobile phones on day ministers tell pupils to get off theirs

19 February 2024 , 17:04

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MPs sit glued to their mobile phones in the House of Commons during Defence Questions

Tory MPs sat in the House of Commons glued to their mobile phones on the day ministers ordered pupils to get off theirs.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has demanded children don’t use their devices at any point during the school day - including break time and lunch. Guidance issued to headteachers says that kids should get lessons explaining the negative consequences of allowing mobiles, including “loss of focus”.

But just hours after the clampdown was announced, Tory MPs appeared to be the ones finding phones to be a distraction in the Commons chamber. At one point in Defence Questions, five Conservative backbenchers could be seen looking at their screens.

Later as Treasury Minister Bim Afolami was grilled on the country being plunged into recession, Business Minister Nus Ghani sat on the frontbench next to him checking her phone. Children could be stopped from taking mobile phones onto school grounds under the new crackdown.

Business Minister Nus Ghani sits on her mobile phone as MPs ask about the country going into recession

In a message to teachers, Ms Keegan said: “We are determined that all schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day – not only during lessons but break and lunchtimes as well.”

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The guidance sets out different options for schools, including a complete ban on mobile phones on the premises, which they are told would be “straightforward to enforce”. Other possibilities include requiring pupils to hand in their phones to teachers before their first class, or asking them to keep them in lockers that they do not have access to during the school day.

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Alternatively, teachers are told they could enforce a “never used, seen or heard” policy where pupils are allowed to keep their phones in their bags, but warned they will be confiscated if they are taken out. Heads are told to rewrite their school behaviour policy so it is clear they have a right to search pupils for mobile phones.

Ms Keegan announced the ban on mobile phone use in schools at last October's Tory conference. The Government has highlighted official data that shows 29% of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used when not supposed to.

But the Association of School and College Leaders has said it does not expect the new guidance to make any discernible impact. General Secretary Geoff Barton said that the "compulsive use" of devices was not happening in schools but "while children are out of school".

John Stevens