Ministers confirm plan to ban use of mobile phones in schools in England

Schools will be able to implement the ban in different ways, from orders to leave all phones at home to allowing pupils to keep them on condition they are not used or heard. Photograph: SolStock/Getty Images

Ministers have confirmed plans to ban the use of mobile phones in English schools, releasing guidance for headteachers that some unions said included practices that had already been widely adopted.

However, one headteacher welcomed the Department for Education (DfE) plan, saying it would help give schools the confidence to make a change that would benefit pupils but could meet resistance from parents.