The latest government U-turn turns the existing guidance on mobile phone bans in schools into statutory law. The Bill, passed this week, also includes proposals for a compulsory register for children who are not in school, a clampdown on profiteering in children's social care, and a “single unique identifier” to help agencies track a child’s welfare. Daniel Kebede, schoolteacher and General Secretary of the National Education Union, told The Mace: "This is about time. While most schools are operating a ban on the use of mobile phones, this statutory obligation will certainly alleviate pressure on leaders, teachers and parents. “There now needs to be serious consideration given to the banning of social media for the under 16s as we have seen in Australia and as the NEU and others are calling for through the Big Tech's Little Victims campaign." Fiona Beresford, director of the Smartphone Free Childhood organisation told The Mace that the new legislation sends a clear signal, reflecting years of work by a movement of school leaders, teachers and parents, that smartphones do not belong in schools. Statutory guidance will make it easier for schools to stand firm with parents and students, to ensure every child benefits from an educational environment built for learning, not constant distraction. "However, it is by no means the finish line' she added. "Whilst the intention of the statutory guidance is clear, the implementation is not. The impact will depend heavily on how strongly schools are given practical support to move away from ‘no see, no hear’ approaches, and implement effective 'bell-to-bell' phone-free policies that create a genuine cultural shift towards smartphone-free childhoods. Without this clear and explicit guidance, there is a risk of cementing ineffective policies that normalise smartphone ownership, rather than challenging it." Beresford added: "There must also be part of wider government action that tackles the problem at its source, by regulating tech companies and setting meaningful age limits on social media, to create lasting change not just in schools, but beyond them too." According to research by the Children’s Commissioner for England last year, 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools already have policies in place that limit the use of mobile phones during school hours. However, despite the government previously arguing that a legal requirement would be redundant because most schools already restrict mobile phones, the new law is seen as a welcome move, particularly by head teachers who have faced challenges from parents. Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), told Mace: “School leaders are as concerned as everyone about the impact of social media and phones on children and young people. “Statutory guidance will give school leaders the clarity they need to implement a ban and will remove any ambiguity or differences between how schools approach smartphone policies.” The new legistation will be monitored by Ofsted to ensure the ban is being properly followed by schools. As it stands the ban will only cover England – The Scottish government brought in rules allowing head teachers to ban mobile phones in 2024 and a similar policy exists in Wales but it is not a national ban. In Northern Ireland, a phone-free pilot scheme which was trialled in nine schools has just ended with a report due to be published in June. Education minister Jacqui Smith told the House of Lords on Monday: “We recognise the strength of feeling on this issue, both in this House and beyond. “Notwithstanding the fact that we think the guidance we already have in place provides head teachers and schools with a range of approaches to be able to deliver the objective that we all share, we are committing to tabling an amendment in lieu which will place the existing guidance on a statutory footing on the face of the bill, creating a clear legal requirement for schools. “We’ve listened to concerns about how we support head teachers in delivering on this policy and we have listened to parliament.” Conservative Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott responded to the move, saying: “I am delighted we have forced Labour to see sense and U-turn. “This is fantastic news for head teachers, parents and pupils across the country. "I'm glad they've now listened this is the right step for improving behaviour and raising attainment in our classrooms." The House of Lords has also accepted the shadow education minister Baroness Barran’s suggestion that the bill should provide some exemptions to sixth form students, boarding schools, and those using phones as medical devices. However, General Secretary of the ASCL union said a statutory ban “doesn’t really change much. “What would really be helpful is for the government to make funding available to schools for the safe and secure storage of mobile phones, such as s...