Edinburgh mobile phone ban in schools: opposition groups yet to decide if they will back all-day ban

Labour education convener James Dalgleish told the Evening News earlier this week he would propose the "bell to bell" ban, toughening up a recommendation from officials for phones to be banned during "learning time".

He also said he would propose the roll-out to all schools of lockable pouches, where pupils would have to store their phones, rather than recommendation from officials that schools should be able to choose a different approach if they wished.

The details of the phone restrictions are due to be decided by the city’s education committee on Tuesday, June 9, with the ban set to start at the beginning of the new school year in August.

Cllr Dalgleish said there was broad agreement on the plan for a ban, but acknowledged there might need to be “some tweaks” in order to reach a consensus.

Euan Hyslop, education spokesperson for the SNP, the biggest party at the City Chambers, said: "The SNP group has been supportive of a school smartphone ban since the beginning of the discussion in 2023 - particularly in light of the positive early feedback from teachers, parents and pupils involved in the pouch pilots at Portobello High School and Queensferry High School."

He said his group had not yet decided its position on the details of the ban. "However, I’ve been clear in the past that the pouches are the best way forward and I would eventually like to see all high schools roll them out. As I say the feedback from the trials has been positive - and that’s really important to note because it shows that some of the initial opposition from pupils will subside when they start to see the benefit in the learning environment.

"On access during breaks, I think it would make sense for senior leadership teams in individual high schools to set their own policies when it gets to this level of detail. I’m mindful that the pupil response to this in the consultation was very clear."

Green education spokesperson Steve Burgess said the officials' recommendation of a ban during learning time seemed to be responding to the feeling of pupils that they should be allowed to use their phones outside classes. Only three per cent of pupils backed an all-day ban.

Cllr Burgess said: "One of the concerns of parents was children sharing inappropriate material from the internet during breaks. Bell-to-bell restrictions would address that. But my reading of the report is it's saying you must have a learning time restriction, but that wouldn't stop a school saying it needed to be at break times as well.

"The report leaves it open to schools to decide what is the best approach for them and i think that is fair enough, the right way to go about it."

He said the lockable pouches seemed a good way to address the issue of smartphones in schools. "But I think leaving it up to the school is fair enough."

Conservative education spokesperson Christopher Cowdy said his group had not yet come to a definite position. "We are very much supportive of restrictions on mobile phone use during the school day.

"I think in general we would be supportive of restrictions throughout the school day, bell to bell, if that is what a head teacher wants to do. Generally we are supportive of head teachers and want to give them all the support they need to make whatever restrictions they feel are best, whether that is class time or bell to bell, whether that is pouches or just by enacting good discipline."

Lib Dem education spokesperson Euan Davidson said his group agreed with Labour on an all-day ban.

He said: "If schools want different approaches from pouches I'm a wee bit more relaxed about that, but bell-to-bell is really important. The evidence we have had shows the worst safeguarding issues have been during breaktimes - filming fighting, bullying incidents and that kind of thing.

"Obviously, the most important thing we're doing is making sure people are concentrating in class, but safeguarding issues are also important. I think we're missing an opportunity if we don't do it bell-to-bell.

"Personally I'm very much in favour of the pouches, but I recognise individual schools might have different approaches."

Edinburgh teacher Emily Borrill, who lobbied the committee to bring in a phone ban, said she supported an all-day ban.

“I think it should be bell to bell - lunchtimes and breaktimes are probably when a lot of the harm is caused anyway. During lessons, phones are a distraction, and then at lunchtime and breaktime they just give unfettered access to horrible content people are sharing.

“There might be difficulties for some schools where pupils leave the site at lunchtime because they might need their phones for safety or paying for things, so it might have to be up to individual schools how they manage that. But I think on school premises the ban should be from the start to the end of the day.”

Cllr Dalgleish said: “I think we all agree on the principles. I will still pursue not having mobile phones at lunchtimes or breaks, but I think there is large agreement on the thrust of what we need to do.

“There may have to be some tweaks as to where exactly we land, but I've been quite clear on my position and I hope the other parties will either come to support that or I'm wiling to compromise a little bit because it's important we try to get consensus on it.

“So, still a bit of work to be done but I think there's broad support for the fundamentals of what we want to do and I'm genuinely hopeful it will all come together.”

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