“Young people need clear rules to thrive” - 4 mums discuss how they’ve reduced or banned their children’s smartphone access

Tween/ teenage students standing in the school hallway, all looking at their phones.

Most schools have stringent rules on phones – commonly that they can’t be ‘out’ at school – due to the host of problems they cause in classrooms. UK government guidelines recommend that all schools prohibit the use of phones throughout the school day. In the US, at least 22 states enforce bans or restrictions on students’ use of phones in schools, according to Education Week.

But phones are still being used, with desperate pupils even sneaking off to the bathroom in their break.