Mobile phones to be banned in all Edinburgh secondary schools

Mobile phones will be banned in all state secondary schools in Edinburgh after the summer holidays.

From August, pupils will have to put their devices in magnetically sealed pouches throughout the school day, including during breaks and lunchtime.

A consultation on the issue found 75% of parents and staff were in favour, although most pupils still wanted access to their devices during breaks.

Edinburgh city councillors decided a ban covering the whole of the school day would be the most effective.

School senior leadership teams will have the choice to decide whether S5 and S6 pupils will have access to their devices during breaks, lunchtime and independent study time.

Meanwhile, primary pupils will have to place their mobiles in lockers throughout the day.

The new policy also covers smartwatches in both primary and secondary schools.

An exemption policy will be developed for pupils who need access to their phones during the day for health or other reasons.

Edinburgh councillors said the mobile phone ban was designed to improve pupils' concentration, behaviour and wellbeing.

Councillor James Dalgleish, convener of the education, children and families committee, described the ban as "a monumental step for Edinburgh's children and young people"

He added: "I am proud that we are one of the first local authorities in the country to introduce widespread restrictions on mobile phones in schools.

"I've been clear from the start that we wanted to be bold in our ambition to make our schools phone-free environments that enable our teachers to teach and pupils to learn without the distraction of devices in the classroom."

The Scottish government introduced guidance allowing head teachers to introduce phone bans in schools in 2024.

It came after a 2022 study which showed that about a third of pupils in Scottish classrooms admitted they had been distracted by the devices.

Council funding of £400,000 was agreed in February to support restrictions on mobile phones and other devices that might be implemented.

Lockable pouches have been under trial at Portobello and Queensferry high schools throughout the last school year - the first schools in Scotland to take the step.

A report presented to the council stated that the pilot had been "broadly successful" so far, and that its impact looked positive.

Last week, the Scottish government urged schools to act before it introduced new legislation to restrict phone use in classrooms.

Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said the government would soon launch a consultation on phone-free classrooms.

McAllan told Holyrood there would also be new national guidance published by the end of the month to support schools in tackling the "spectrum of harm" linked to mobile phone use.

She said there was a "higher risk of depression, anxiety, poor sleep and poor health in adolescence that arises from smartphone use".

She told MSPs: "A public health approach means being clear about the harms and taking a holistic approach to addressing these."

McAllan said ministers would also push for the UK government to ban social media for under-16s.

Additional reporting by Local Democracy Reporter Joe Sullivan