5 questions to ask your school about smartphones

It sounds obvious, but a head’s response to this simple question opens the door for you to dig deeper into a school’s approach to smartphone use. Governments across the UK are encouraging schools to take stronger measures, and while no government mandates one particular approach, the direction of travel towards a smartphone-free school day is clear. Many schools are moving away from ‘no see, no hear’ policies – phones switched off in bags – as devices designed to be addictive are easily worked around and learning is still disrupted. That is why growing numbers are adopting more robust measures that prohibit smartphone use throughout the school day.

For Smartphone Free Childhood, the policy with the most transformative effect is a ‘no-smartphone-on-site’ approach, which prohibits students from bringing any smartphone or smart device into school. Students can still bring a non-internet-enabled phone if needed. This creates the most powerful shift in school communities, reducing peer pressure and resetting smartphone culture beyond the school gates.

If your school operates a lighter-touch policy, it’s worth understanding how it is working towards a truly smartphone-free environment. You can ask directly, and view the smartphone policies of schools in the Good Schools Guide.

It’s worth understanding how far smartphones are embedded into other aspects of a school’s culture. If a school operates a smartphone-free policy, this should be evident in its wider priorities and processes, so it reflects a shared vision for learning and wellbeing rather than a standalone rule.

Any school serious about a smartphone-free environment should be able to explain how essential school functions, such as homework, timetables and travel to and from school, can be accessed without a smartphone. For example, some schools have designed homework to complement their smartphone-free policy, with tasks accessed via school computers or offline resources rather than personal phones. Requiring children to have a smartphone to access essential parts of school life instantly blocks parents trying to keep their children’s lives smartphone-free.

This isn’t about schools programming every minute of students’ social time. It is about making room for real-life connections...

Cultivating environments where young people build real relationships is what schools have always done best. A smartphone-free school is more than a policy on paper. It is about the environment it creates. So it’s worth asking what opportunities the school provides for students to build real-life skills through enrichment and extracurricular activities such as clubs, teams, arts, music and sport.

This isn’t about schools programming every minute of students’ social time. It is about making room for real-life connections that can often be achieved through simple options such as open library sessions, board games at lunch, and sports hall access. Neither is it about expecting schools to come up with all the ideas. The best ideas for how to spend that time often come from students themselves, so ask your school how it involves and empowers young people to set up their own clubs and activities.

If delaying the purchase of a smartphone is something you are interested in, you will want to find out how the school will support you. There are many schools leading the way in this area by actively promoting a delay in smartphone ownership. Some schools understand that delaying is a collective action problem and actively support their community by encouraging parents to consider signing the Smartphone Free Childhood Parent Pact. This makes it easier for families to hold the line together rather than feeling they are the only ones saying no.

Ask if the school is willing to recommend alternatives to smartphones to the parent community, such as phones with no internet or app access. You can find a plethora of resources to help with writing a letter to the head and introducing smartphone alternatives on the Smartphone Free Childhood website.

Schools increasingly collaborate with parents to help keep children safe online at home. Many promote home-use agreements that recommend sensible practices: not using smartphones after a certain time in the evening to protect sleep, keeping devices out of bedrooms, and helping families understand the addictive nature of certain apps and the algorithms designed to keep users online.

Some schools go further with a co-signed digital charter for pupils, parents and the school, setting out shared expectations for technology use and reinforcing consistent, partnership-based messages about focus, wellbeing and appropriate digital behaviour both in school and at home. Schools that take these approaches have great success, as families within the same community are aligned on use at home. Parents also find it hugely helpful to be able to refer to the school’s policy when they experience pushback from their children.

Schools looking for support in creating a smartphone-free environment can find practical tools, resources and a community of others doing the same through the Smartphone Free Childhood Schools Network.

Daisy Greenwell is cofounder of Smartphone Free Childhood, the grassroots parent movement which sprang up in February 2024. She’s a journalist and editor, and mother of three.

Smartphone Free Childhood is a parent-led movement aiming to protect children from the dangers of using smartphones too young. In just a few months since launching, it has amassed 80,000 followers on its WhatsApp and social media channels. The organisation’s Smartphone Free Schools online resources provide evidence, information, and inspiration for parents to send to schools.