Rejected petition: Preserve secondary schools’ freedom to set their own mobile phone policies
Rejected on
The Government plans to force English schools to ban mobile phone use.
We believe this is excessive and unnecessary, severely limits opportunities for schools to educate children on responsible use, and stifles academic research.
We call on the Government to exclude secondary schools from the ban.
Non-statutory guidance issued in 2024 by the Conservative Government recommended that all schools ban mobile phone use.
In secondary schools, blanket bans have little to no impact on pupil wellbeing, attainment or behaviour:
https://doi.org/q37x
Mobile phones can support the wellbeing of vulnerable children at school:
https://doi.org/q37w
The Government must adopt a more holistic approach, and ensure that young people are heard and taken seriously, not merely used as a “political football”.
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
You may wish to sign this petition which calls for the same action:
Reverse the ban on phones in schools
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/765474We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.