Dads call for ban on smartphones in schools

Two fathers have announced they will seek a judicial review of government guidance as part of a campaign to get smartphones banned in schools.

Will Orr-Ewing from Oxford and Pete Montgomery, who lives near Lancaster, have warned Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, in a letter on Friday, that they plan to take legal action.

The pair have said the current guidance, which allows headteachers to decide how smartphones are used, is unlawful and unsafe for children.

The Department for Education (DfE) said schools already had the power to ban phones and it was bringing in "better protections" from harmful content through the Online Safety Act.

The fathers have brought their claim under the name Generation Alpha CIC.

They believe the safest approach for children would be a complete ban on smartphones in schools.

Mr Orr-Ewing said: "We know that when children use smartphones they usually don't do it in a safe way.

He said they were using the devices to access harmful "very violent or sexual" content or "they use it for cyberbullying".

He added: "Parents have told us about boys being filmed naked in the PE changing rooms and then shared across the school."

Meanwhile, he said girls were "being manipulated by predators on messaging platforms during lessons and in school toilets" and "tiny children" were being shown "graphic pornography" on the school bus by other children.

The fathers said children should only have "brick phones" to communicate with parents if needed, but a ban on smartphones was a "no-brainer".

The government released its latest guidance around keeping children safe at school on Monday.

It acknowledged that some children might engage in bullying and sexual harassment, "share indecent images" and "view and share pornography and other harmful content" and said schools should "carefully consider how this is managed".

Mr Montgomery said: "We made Freedom of Information requests to schools in England about safeguarding incidents related to smartphones and social media.

"One school passed 55 such incidents to social services in the last academic year, 17 of which were referred to the police."

He added: "A statutory ban would be a huge relief for headteachers and parents alike."

In a statement, the DfE said: "Schools already have the power to ban phones, and we support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption, backed by our clear guidance on how to restrict their use.

"We know there are wider issues with children's online experiences, which is why we are also bringing in better protections from harmful content through the Online Safety Act."

It has 14 days to officially respond to the letter, after which point the claimants can issue judicial review proceedings.