Derbyshire marketing leader welcomes new Government guidance banning mobile phones in schools

The leader of a Derbyshire marketing agency has welcomed new Government guidance suggesting mobile phones should be banned in schools.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan announced on October 2 that mobile phones should be banned in schools – including in break times - to tackle disruptive behaviour, reduce online bullying and boost learning.

Anna Hutton, director of communications and behaviour change at award-winning creative agency MacMartin, said she “fully supported” the Department for Education’s new guidance.

Anna, who has toured secondary schools in Derbyshire and Staffordshire with workshops and toolkits to help teenagers take back control of their social media, said banning mobile phones in schools would also help young people’s wellbeing by giving them a welcome break from them.

She said: “I fully support the Department for Education in their new guidance for schools. We know from research that phones, particularly the use of social media on phones, can be distractive and addictive to young people and disrupt their learning considerably.

"Children are particularly prone to ‘FOMO’ (Fear of Missing Out) which leads to the usage of phones when they are not supposed to in lessons. This move to banning mobile phones in lessons, as well as at break times will give young people the break that is required for their wellbeing.

“We know through various cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that smartphone and social media usage is implicated in the increase of mental distress, self-injurious behaviour and suicidality amongst young people, particularly girls.

"We also know that smartphone usage and media multitasking can result in chronic sleep deprivation, and negative effects on cognitive control and academic performance.

"I therefore hope that schools will follow this guidance to look after the wellbeing of their students, as well as giving every child the chance to maximize their own academic performance.”

The move to ban mobile phone use in schools would bring England in line with France, Italy and Portugal where bans are already in place.

Warnings on the dangers of mobile phone use for young people have been voiced by some of the world’s highest authorities, including the United Nations and US surgeon general Vivek Murphy.

Some schools have already banned mobile phones and for those which do not implement the new guidance, the Government has said it will consider legislating in the future to make its guidance statutory.

Anna has previously outlined some top tips for parents when giving their child a first phone, advising that parent’s work with their children to set boundaries before it is handed over, and ensuring access is given only to age-appropriate apps and features.

The MacMartin team is keen to hear from any secondary schools who would be interested in finding out more about the company’s toolkits aimed at helping teenagers develop healthy relationships with social media. Get in touch through www.macmartin.co.uk.