Edinburgh's mobile phone ban still not fully up and running in all schools
No date for when magnets needed to unlock pouches will be installed everywhere
Parents who campaigned successfully for a mobile phone ban in Edinburgh schools say it is "frustrating" that the new system, where devices are locked away in pouches, is still not fully up and running.
The ban officially came into force when schools reopened in August after the summer break. But nearly 12 weeks later some schools still do not have the pouches and others are waiting for the magnets needed to unlock the pouches to be installed.
The council said it had now received all the 24,635 pouches ordered as part of the scheme. Many had gone out to the schools and the last of the schools to receive their pouches would get them on Monday.
But it could not say when all the magnets would be installed. There has been a delay in completing this work in schools built through public-private partnerships (PPP) because it has to go through the relevant contractors.
Under the ban, pupils in all Edinburgh’s high schools must lock their phones in pouches when they arrive at school and cannot access them until they leave. There are exemptions for pupils with special medical needs. And head teachers have the discretion to allow S5 and S6 pupils access to their phones at lunch and during private study periods.
Charlene, one of the parents involved in pushing for the ban, said: "We were told the pouches would be in place at all schools by the October mid-term break at the latest but there are still a number that don't have them and I heard from pupils at one school that one of the teachers told them it will probably take until Christmas.
"It's so frustrating - you work so hard to get this passed and you believe it's going to be in place by August, then it's going to be the mid-term break, and still quite a few schools still don't have them."
She said the delay meant pupils at Portobello High, for example, one of the schools where the pouch system was trialled before the city-wide ban was agreed, now had a different school experience from pupils in schools where pouches were not in operation.
"We campaigned to have the same situation at every high school across Edinburgh instead of this postcode lottery. But I'm hearing there are still loads of kids on their phones in class, hiding their phones behind their ipads, they're on TikTok, it's still all the same issues - the ban is just not enforced as it needs to be.
“That was why we were pushing for this lockable system, because it is so hard to enforce a ban - phones are addictive, we know that - that's why we need this system in place, because we can't expect teachers to have to enforce it all day long.
“People are really counting on this. Parents - and teachers too, I’m sure - really want to see this in practice.”
Education convener James Dalgleish said: “The mobile phone ban from bell to bell came into force in August 2026 and feedback from teachers and staff is overwhelmingly positive.
“By the start of November all schools now have their delivery of pouches to lock their phones away in place. However, there has been some delay with the installation of the magnets needed to open them.
"Around half our schools are PPP buildings and require additional permissions to install the magnets to the walls. Work is progressing swiftly to ensure these are fitted as a priority.
“I am determined to ensure the roll out of the pouches happens at speed whilst meeting building standards and ensuring the installations are carried out properly.
“The ban is already in place and I look forward to seeing the pouches in all our schools shortly.”