Overwhelming majority of parents and staff back mobile phone ban for Edinburgh high schools
A consultation has found overwhelming support among parents and staff for banning mobile phones in Edinburgh secondary schools.
But a majority of pupils said the ban should only apply to class time, with access to phones allowed during breaks.
Edinburgh has been trialling a ban at two city high schools, using lockable pouches. At Queensferry High, pupils must lock their phones away all day, but at Portobello they are allowed to use them at lunchtime.
Both trials are said to be working well. But now the city’s education committee will have to decide how a ban should be brought in.
In September 2025, the committee agreed in principle to a ban, with pouches the preferred option across all secondary schools, and lockable cabinets in primary schools.
The six-week consultation drew a total of 13,930 responses from parents/carers, school staff and pupils - more than the 11,425 for the recent consultation on a new North-South tramline, wich ran for twice as long.
Parents of current secondary school pupils were 94 per cent in favour of mobile phone restrictions, 54 per cent backing an all-day ban and 40 per cent agreeing the ban should just be during class.
Similarly, secondary school staff were 97 per cent in favour of restrictions, with 57 per cent for an all-day ban and 40 per cent saying phones should be allowed at lunch and breaktimes.
Just 3 per cent of secondary pupils supported an all-day ban, with 53 per cent in favour of a ban during classes, while 32 per cent said there should be no restrictions.
Parents were divided on the pouches idea, with 31 per cent in favour or a lockable pouch system and 29 per cent preferring phones to be stored in a secure cabinet.
Education convener James Dalgleish said he was very pleased with the number of responses and he expected a final decision to be made by the education committee in June, with the hope of a ban being implemented at the start of the new school term in August.
He said: “I believe having some kind of ban on mobile phones in schools is going to allow teachers to teach better and pupils to learn without distraction. I think we will look back in years to come and think this was a sensible and practical thing to do for young people.”
On the question of an all-day ban or allowing access at breaks, he said he hoped to work with schools on what was best for them.
“The baseline for me is no phones in class, but if schools feel the need to go further and ban them for the whole day I would be supportive of that too.
“We want to listen to what pupils’ concerns are, because if it’s going to work well we need to address these concerns. In the two trials we have been running we’ve found that pupils who were hesitant at the start have come to support what’s in place.”
Cllr Dalgleish was due to visit St Thomas of Aquin’s High School to mark the publication of the consultation results, but a fire alarm meant the visit was switched to James Gillespie’s High School.
Gillespie’s pupil Maya McKee, 16, was opposed to an all-day ban. “Yes, they can be a distraction in class,” she said. “But I find myself calling my parents from school every day and needing it for paying for lunch, so banning them entirely wouldn’t work for a lot of people - but I guess in class it’s fair enough.”
And she added that senior pupils, in particular, should be trusted more to be responsible. “From S1 to S3, there’s not really a need for their phones a lot of the time, I would say, but I think as seniors, having the access and the right to manage our time well is giving us better experience for later on in life.”
Fellow pupil Amy MacLeod, 16, argued a ban on phones was unfair when a lot of people used their phones productively. “In most of my classes I listen to music just because I find it way more productive. I find noise quite distracting and I just want to listen to music to get into my own zone. In lots of classes we’re not allowed to do that and I think it’s not fair when that’s beneficial to my learning. If my headphones are not in, I’m more likely to talk to people and distract myself in other ways.”
Xander Delorey, 12, said he used his phone a lot when he was not at school but currently they were not allowed to use them at school and felt that was “reasonable”. Oliver Denniston, 12, thought a ban in class was right, but phones should be allowed at breaks.
Will Reid, 12, said: “Since at James Gillespie’s we move between campuses, I feel we should be allowed our phones then. And I think we should be allowed them at lunch ad break, but not in class.”
And Betty Easter, 12, said phones could help with pupil safety. “If you’re having an outside school lunch I do think it’s important you have a phone - they’re quite a good form of safety. I think it’s good to have that extra piece of protection.”
Gillespie’s head teacher Neil McCallum said the school currently had a no-phone campus policy. “We ask them that when they’re on the school campus their phones are away in their bags. We want to make sure there’s no impact on their learning when they’re in the classrooms; but also at break and lunchtime that there’s the social aspect and the interaction. Across the vast majority of our school population, the young people work with us on that and understand the rationale behind it.”
On the move to a city-wide ban, he said: “The key thing for me is about how we work with our young people and I think their voice is important in this and working as a community to try and find a resolution.”