Schools with smartphone-free policies have reported significant reductions in safeguarding concerns, suspension rates and staff turnover, with one head describing the changes as 鈥渢ransformational鈥. Academy trust or school leaders told Schools Week their policies have contributed to a 50 to 90 per cent reduction in cases relating to things like online bullying and sexual exploitation. Other schools cited phone bans as one of rates of suspensions and detentions dropping by between 20 to 30 per cent. Meanwhile, other heads said they have noticed the school environment 鈥渇eeling more calm and orderly鈥. Schools have used a variety of methods to enforce a ban, including only allowing brick phones, putting phones into pouches or locked into boxes, or a 鈥榮ee it, hear it, lose it鈥 policy. But headteachers are divided over whether a government ban of phones in schools is needed 鈥 or whether their policies can influence behaviour for the better outside of the school walls. As a national debate rages on, Schools Week spoke to leaders to find out how their mobile phone bans were going 鈥 ‘It’s been transformational’ 鈥淚鈥檝e been a school leader now for the best part of 15 years,鈥 Damian McBeath (pictured right), principal of The John Wallis Academy in Ashford, said, 鈥渁nd this is the thing that I would say has been transformational.鈥 McBeath (pictured right) introduced magnetic pouches, where pupils must put their phones during school, in January 2024 and has since seen behaviour in classrooms 鈥渟ignificantly improve鈥. For instance, his school has recorded a 40 per cent drop in the number of detentions for disruptive behaviour. Ormiston Academies Trust, which introduced a trust-wide ban earlier this year, has also seen a reduction in suspension rates. While schools were not able to prove this was a direct consequence of mobile-phone bans, many felt it was a key factror. Speaking at the Festival of Education, Ormiston chief executive Tom Rees said 鈥渢he benefits outweigh the risks鈥, with 鈥渃hildren not leaving lessons as much, social time at lunch break improving, more interaction between peers鈥. National director of learning at Ormiston, Dr Jennifer Barker, added students are 鈥渕ore engaged in lessons鈥, with schools feeling 鈥渕ore calm and orderly outside lessons鈥, too. Tom Rees Across Lift Trust鈥檚 57 schools, suspensions are down 19 per cent year on year, which a spokesperson said was partially due to a trust-wide ban of phones. One of the trust鈥檚 schools, Winton Academy in Andover, had seven reported behaviour incidents this year, compared to 125 the year before. Suspension rates at the City of London Academy, which currently uses phone pouches but will introduce a brick phone policy next year, have also dropped by a third. Safeguarding concerns drop While phone bans are often implemented to improve behaviour, schools say they have also experienced a dramatic drop in the number of safeguarding cases regarding online safety and social media. David Smith, who has only allowed brick phones at Fulham Boys School since September, said his safeguarding team estimate a 60 per cent reduction in cases that take place outside of school. David Smith Within his younger years, there has been a 90 per cent drop in safeguarding issues around sexual exploitation. Ormiston also said it has seen safeguarding concerns cut in half, while The John Wallis Academy has had an 80 per cent reduction in online bullying incidents. McBeath said this was because students were talking to each other more, and in greater depth. 鈥淭he incidents that usually resulted in people being abusive and rude online never start as someone deliberately setting out to hurt someone,鈥 he added. 鈥淭hey usually started as a chat online, and you couldn鈥檛 tell what the other person was saying, whether they were sarcastic.鈥 Beyond the school walls David Scales Woodfields Academy, in Doncaster, has been trialling a voluntary two-week phone ban, before implementing a full ban, in the next academic year. Its head David Scales said just one to two students per class handed phones in during the first week. But in the second, around half of each class did. 鈥淵oung people want to do this. They want a phone free existence in schools,鈥 Scales said. Other school leaders said their pupils also use their phone less outside of school. David Smith, from Fulham Boys, said he has received 鈥渟o many positive emails from members of the community who have said 鈥業 sat on the bus, or I鈥檝e been on the tube and I鈥檝e been around your boys and it鈥檚 so lovely to see them talking to one another, reading, engaging with the world rather than looking at a screen鈥欌. A study by The New Britain Project and More in Common found restrictions on smartphone use in schools can reduce pupils overall screen time. Another 鈥渉uge鈥 impact has been on staff morale, McBeath added, with staff turnover reducing from 23 to less than 10 per cent in one year after the ban was introduced. He said teachers felt as if 鈥渢hey can have more authentic conversations with students because they鈥檙e not fearful that every single conversation is going to be filmed, recorded, taken out of context, put online. 鈥淚t means their relationships have become better with the students. One teacher described the impact as it feels like time has slowed down a little bit.鈥 What does the research say? According to research by the children鈥檚 commissioner, 90 per cent of secondary schools and nearly all primary schools have policies to stop the use of mobile phones. But few secondaries actually have total bans. But not all evidence agrees on their impact. While an found banning mobile phones from schools had the equivalent effect of giving pupils an extra week of education in the academic year, researchers from the suggested restricting phone use does not improve grades or young people鈥檚 mental health. But research is being conducted at pace, particularly with many countries now implementing nationwide policies. For instance, a found bans had improved school learning environments after national guidelines were introduced in January 2024. In England, government guidance advises schools to ban phones 鈥 but is not statutory. But publication of this year鈥檚 national behaviour survey, which could give an indication as to the impact of bans, has been delayed. A government ban? 鈥淥ver the last decade or more, we鈥檝e let smartphones run loose without seeking to put appropriate guardrails around it for our children鈥, Gregor Poynton, MP for Livingston and Chair of the Children鈥檚 Online Safety APPG said. Gregor Poynton MP His cross-party group aims to drive policy change to enhance online safety for children and young people, which Poynton said is 鈥渙ne of the biggest problems in this Parliament鈥. The MP said schools 鈥渃learly have a role to play鈥 in this, as its where 鈥渢hey form relationships and are prepared for the world鈥. The Labour government fended off calls for a ban put forward by the Conservatives in an amendment to their school鈥檚 bill in March. Prime Minister Kier Starmer said it was 鈥渃ompletely unnecessary鈥, with headteachers best placed to implement policies. Certain councils, like Barnet and Enfield, have implemented a ban across dozens of schools in their local authority catchments, but have left it up to schools in how it is enforced. Rees, from Ormiston, said his trust 鈥渞ecognises the agency of headteachers鈥 in deciding when, and how to implement a phone ban. Starmer said it was completely unnecessary to ban phones Lift Trust has taken a similar approach. 鈥淲e鈥檝e made it clear our trust-wide position that our schools should be phone-free environments,鈥 a spokesperson said, but 鈥渙ur leaders have autonomy in how they enforce this position based on their local community.鈥 But other leaders, like Scales in Doncaster said that without a national ban, 鈥渨e鈥檙e saying that headteachers have to shoulder this responsibility to make this change.鈥 Ninety per cent of students are either below or just above the poverty line at his school. Scales argued without a country-wide rule enforced, a 鈥減ostcode lottery鈥 would be created. ‘Take the heat off the school’ Smith, from Fulham Boys School, agreed a nationwide ban would help 鈥渢ake the heat off the school鈥 when parents pushback about a ban. He also thought parents want schools to take a lead on the issue. Michael Baxter 鈥淵ou need the school to make some difficult decisions. If I confiscate a child鈥檚 phone, that child is not going to come and see me every day and go on and on at me or punish me – I鈥檓 the headteacher, they wouldn鈥檛 dare. 鈥淸But] If a parent takes a child鈥檚 phone 鈥 that child can really make it difficult for that parent.鈥 However Michael Baxter, from City of London Academy, was more positive about headteachers taking the lead. 鈥淥bviously there are some benefits to government legislation鈥 but at the same time, schools are charged with solving so many of society鈥檚 issues. I think part of our job is to do that. 鈥淎nything you鈥檙e told to do you鈥檙e less likely to do unless you believe 鈥 and right now head teachers have got the power to believe that.鈥