TEACHERS have ridiculed a government suggestion to ban mobile phones in schools, warning that the measure could cause “more problems than it solves.” 

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said today that he wants to make schools mobile-free, claiming the devices are “damaging” and “distracting.” 

The idea is being considered as part of a six-week consultation seeking the views of teachers, parents and staff on how to improve behaviour and discipline in schools. 

But teaching unions accused the Education Secretary of being obsessed with the issue of phones in schools, and said it was up for each institution to decide their own policy. 

Head teachers union ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton said: “Frankly, school and college leaders would prefer the Education Secretary to be delivering an ambitious post-pandemic recovery plan rather than playing to backbenchers on the subject of behaviour.”

Senior policy adviser for school leaders’ union NAHT Sarah Hannafin said that a blanket ban on mobiles would not work in all schools.

“The outright banning of mobile phones can cause more problems than it solves, driving phone use ‘underground’ and making problems less visible and obvious for schools to tackle,” she said. 

Teaching union NEU called on Mr Williamson to instead focus on improving student wellbeing, branding his suggestion “a distraction.” 

“Gavin Williamson is out of step with the scale of the challenge faced by education staff in terms of the number of young people with mental health difficulties and gaps in areas such as speech and language skills,” NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said. 

“The Secretary of State talks about ‘discipline’ and ‘order’ when he should talk about mental health, wellbeing and what teachers need to cope with learning gaps.”