Lucy Powell said the England pupil mobile phone policy will be tightened so pupils in England cannot have phones on them at all during the school day from September 2027. The Education Secretary said the government's message was “school is for learning and friendship, not scrolling”, as ministers move beyond the current approach in some schools.
The stricter guidance will go further than “no see, no hear” policies and is expected to require schools to decide how they enforce the rule. Schools in England already have legal responsibility to be phone-free throughout the day under guidance that came into force in June.
Lucy Powell and September 2027
Powell framed the change as a clearer line for parents, pupils and schools. Under the new guidance, pupils will not be allowed to keep phones in bags or pockets during the school day, which leaves schools to choose the method they use to remove that option.
That flexibility matters because the guidance does not force one storage model. Schools can use sealed pouches, secure lockers, phone collection at the start of the day, or a site-wide ban, depending on the system they put in place.
NAHT and Association of School and College Leaders
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said phones could raise “safety issues” and be “an unhelpful distraction” during the school day. He also said the more robust measures recommended under the new guidance would “come at a cost”.
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the latest guidance “does at least provide some clarity”. He added that school leaders “cannot simply make mobile phones disappear”, and warned the cost of lockable pouches or other secure storage for every pupil would be “very significant indeed”.
Dame Rachel and Generation Focus
Dame Rachel de Souza welcomed “strong action to stop phones distracting pupils and disrupting the school day”. Charlotte Ashton of Generation Focus said “no see, no hear” policies were not working and that pupils were still “TikToking in the toilets”.
Laura Trott said she was “delighted that Labour have finally listened to us and agreed to properly ban smartphones in schools”. She also said it was the “right thing to do” to review safety standards around the technology used in schools.
The pressure now falls on schools in England to turn the new guidance into day-to-day practice by September 2027. The unresolved issue is how they will pay for and implement secure storage or other stricter controls for every pupil.
