A smartphone ban won’t solve our kids’ problems

As a former teacher, I can say with a reasonable degree of confidence that Bridget Phillipson ranks among the worst Education Secretaries this country has ever seen. Yet when Phillipson described the Tories’ attempt to ban phones from the classroom as a ‘headline-grabbing gimmick’ back in January, I found myself nodding along in agreement. She was right. Unfortunately, this moment of optimism about Phillipson was fleeting. The Education Secretary declared this month that headteachers have the government’s ‘full backing’ on removing phones from classrooms. This reversal of good judgement is yet another example of a policy that appears to place conviction over evidence.

No, I don’t think that children should have phones; far from it. I sit firmly in the anti-smartphone camp; none of my children have devices. When I was teaching, it was obvious to me that phones were a constant source of bickering and disruption.