The government's education bill will include a ban on smartphones in classrooms, as pushed by the Conservatives. The Conservatives are proposing a change to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would prohibit students from using cell phones and other electronic devices in class.The Department for Education stated that schools already have the authority to determine how to forbid the use of phones in the classroom, and it is thought that the Labour Government has no intentions to enact legislation to do so. The then-Conservative government, led by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, gave non-statutory guidelines to English schools with the goal of prohibiting cell phone use in class and during lunch and break times.We have a growing understanding of how damaging phones and social media are on our children’s education. That’s why we believe that smartphones in schools should be banned during the school day

Laura Trott, shadow education secretary

The Tories are now tabling an amendment to a Labour Bill in a bid to stop pupils using mobile phones and devices during the school day.It would mandate that all schools in England put a policy in place that applies from the start of the day’s first lesson to the end of the last.

Schools would decide how to implement the ban and there would be flexibility for sixth forms and residential or boarding schools.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “We have a growing understanding of how damaging phones and social media are on our children’s education.“That’s why we believe that smartphones in schools should be banned during the school day.

“This is the right thing for parents, teachers and children, and I hope Labour will back it.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said the Bill would be a “seminal moment” for children and that there is already clear guidance for schools on mobile phones.The spokesperson said: “The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will be a seminal moment for the safety and success of our children, from new safeguards around home education to breakfast clubs in every primary school to set children up to learn.

“There is already clear government guidance which helps headteachers to decide how best to prohibit phones in a way that will work in their own schools. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices.”

The Conservatives used an attempt to block the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill earlier this month to force a vote on calls for a new inquiry into grooming gangs.

This week Kemi Badenoch raised concerns over the Bill’s impact on academy freedoms, including on teacher recruitment and pay.

The new Bill would ensure all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework, whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.

The Bill also includes measures allowing councils to open new schools which are not academies, and it will end the forced academisation of schools run by local authorities which are identified as a concern by Ofsted.