Nearly seven in 10 adults think the government should legislate to ban the use of smartphones in schools, according to a new poll.
A similar number said everyone under the age of 16 should be banned from owning a mobile phone with access to addictive apps and social media, the survey found.
The research was carried out by strategic consultancy Stonehaven and shared exclusively with us. Ishows that 68% of adults think the government should ban the use of smartphones at school gates.
A further 70% supported selling “dumb phones” to everyone under 16 with built-in restrictions to prevent children from accessing certain apps.
This comes as a bill to block access to the app for everyone under the age of 16 is expected to be introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Labor MP Josh McAllister has introduced the Safety Phone Bill, said to be the equivalent of a “seatbelt law” for mobile phones, as a private member’s bill, and it has received bipartisan support.
Under the bill, all headteachers in England would be legally required to make their schools mobile-free zones in a bid to curb smartphone addiction.
Opinion polls show that these measures have strong support from the public, with support for a complete ban on phones in schools highest among Conservative and Reform voters, with 78% and 75% supporting them respectively. I am doing it.
The survey also shows that a clear majority of respondents (59%) believe the government should ban the sale of smartphones to under-12s.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting separately expressed some support for the bill.
“This is a very timely discussion given the impact of smartphone use and addiction on the mental health of children and young people and the concerns of parents,” he wrote in X.
Current guidance to schools in England aimed at stopping the use of mobile phones in class is not legislated, but was introduced by the previous Conservative government earlier this year.
Teachers’ unions have suggested that the guidance should be given a legal basis to better protect both children and school staff from online abuse.
Based on a private member’s bill proposed by Mr. McAllister, the online safety legislation, which is still being introduced and is expected to take full effect next year, will place greater responsibility on social media companies to protect children from harmful material. The purpose is to strengthen the law. content.
The bill would also raise the age at which children can legally access social media from 13 to 16, and would require parental consent to access such apps.
The government has not yet revealed its whipsaw deal for the proposed legislation, but Downing Street signaled on Tuesday it believed existing laws to protect young people from harmful content online were sufficient.
Asked if the government supported the bill, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said No. 10 understood “the concerns that parents have about mobile phones”, adding: Protect children from accessing harmful or age-inappropriate content.
“Principals already have the power to ban the use of mobile phones in school, and many choose to exercise this right. There are no plans to do so.”
“Voters don’t expect the government to tell parents how to raise their children, but they do expect bipartisan support to protect children from smartphones,” said Adam McNicholas, senior adviser at Stonehaven. “There is,” he said.
“Doomscrolling, always-on notifications, and access to dangerous content have sparked a national discussion about the harm caused to children by smartphones. This is a live kitchen table issue.”
However, the survey also found overwhelming agreement that it is parents’ responsibility to police their children’s smartphone use. When asked if it is parents’ responsibility to limit the harm smartphones can do to their children, 87% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed, with only 2% disagreeing.
