UK government moves to make school mobile phone bans a legal requirement in England

What is changing under the government's plan?

The government says it will turn existing guidance on restricting mobile phones in schools into a statutory requirement by amending the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, so schools in England would be legally required to have phone restrictions rather than simply being advised to do so BBC,BBC,Irish News.

Why is the government making this change now?

The change comes after the bill was delayed in the House of Lords and peers backed an amendment on school phone bans; ministers said they recognized the strength of feeling on the issue and moved to put the policy into law as the bill continued through Parliament BBC,Guardian,Financial Times News.

Will this affect many schools in practice?

The Department for Education says the majority of schools already prohibit mobile phones, and one school leaders' representative told the BBC that a legal ban may not change much because most schools already enforce their own restrictions BBC,BBC,ITV Hub.