Call for national ban on mobile phones in schools is defeated in Scottish Parliament, leaving it to headteachers to decide
A call for a national ban on mobile phones in schools has been defeated in the Scottish Parliament.
Labour urged the ban, saying teachers had been left "firefighting disruption" and arguing that removing phones from classrooms across the country would help make schools "calm and safe places to learn".
But Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said it should be left up to headteachers to decide whether to ban phones. And she said she would support any headteacher who decided to institute a ban.
She said: "It is quite clear in the national guidance that our headteachers are already empowered to carry out mobile phone bans. I must ask why Scottish Labour does not trust our headteachers to do that."
Edinburgh council has agreed to ban phones in primary schools and plans a consultation on a ban in secondary schools.
Last month, city maths teacher Emily Borrill told the Evening News how it was a "constant battle" to get pupils to put their phones away and concentrate on lessons. And she argued a solution required leadership from the council to introduce a consistent policy rather than leaving it up to individual schools or teachers to set their own rules.
In the Holyrood debate on Wednesday, Lothian MSP and Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said there seemed to be a consensus across the parliament that mobile phone use in classrooms should be banned and that councils should move towards such a ban.
He said: "In too many cases, our school environments have become toxic, with students and teachers experiencing stress, bullying and other negative behaviours, and mobile phone use is often at the heart of that."
Mr Briggs praised Leith Academy for its on phones. The school's policy says pupils can use their mobile phones at break and lunch intervals, but in the classroom, pupils’ phones should be on silent and stored away in a bag.
Two Edinburgh schools - Portobello and Queensferry highs - are currently piloting lockable phone pouches which can only be unlocked by a magnetic pad at the end of the day.
But Mr Briggs said: " That is an expensive solution to the problem, and I know from speaking to staff that the additional staff support that is needed to seal and unseal the wallets is problematic. I am open to different approaches being taken, and I think that headteachers should be at the heart of that work."
East Lothian SNP MSP Paul McLennan said the government was supporting Scotland’s schools to to tackle the negative effects associated with mobile phone use.
He said: "East Lothian Council has had a policy of allowing individual schools to decide on their own policies. I am also aware of differing opinions within schools in East Lothian, as well as among the parents.
"It is about the Scottish Government empowering headteachers in schools to make the decisions on mobile phone use that work for them and best support their children and their local areas."
East Lothian-based Labour MSP Martin Whitfield dismissed the suggestion that his party did not trust headteachers, but said there needed to be a clear message.
He said: "The cabinet secretary has the power to make the change, not in a directorial and top-down way but by saying, “This is the message—implement it in the way that you need to.”