Schools: Mobile Phones

Lord Sikka Excerpts

Monday 12th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Baroness identifies the need for all of us to continue thinking about the best practice for schools to ensure that their classrooms are mobile phone free, and that they are working on the best evidence. There is a whole range of ways in which schools are responding to this, and it would be good for them to look at the very best practice across schools that are taking action. However, I am afraid that the noble Baroness’s point was that this is difficult and nuanced, that people are doing it in different ways, and that we need detailed consideration of how to do it best. None of those things would be delivered by a—I hate, in this place, to call legislation crude, but none of them would be delivered simply by legislating for something that, as she identified, is more complex than that.

[Lord Sikka (Lab)]

My Lords, sometimes technology can help to deal with social problems. As a Faraday cage blocks phone signals, it would be appropriate to install those cages in all classrooms and prevent pupils being distracted by mobile phones. Will the Minister experiment with this technology?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I think I am right in saying that some schools already use that technology, along with a range of other technologies, such as keeping mobile phones in special bags that prevent them being used. Schools are making progress on this in a whole range of ways. The noble Lord is right that technology can sometimes be the answer to problems caused by other forms of technology.