We know smartphones are harming girls – so why don’t we act?

This week a report by the Policy Exchange think tank found that children at secondary schools with a full phone ban in place achieved GCSE results that are one or two grades higher compared with children at schools with less strict policies. This is despite the fact that the schools with complete bans typically tend to have a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals than schools with less restrictive policies. 

This is interesting, but hardly surprising, and I highly doubt it will lead to substantial change. The government’s guidance to schools in February has already made little difference: only 11 per cent of schools in England and Wales physically separate students from their phones for the duration of the school day, even though we know the mere presence of a phone is a distraction in and of itself.