Key Questions to Ask Your MP

• See HERE for examples.

• The current advice is guidance is not legal, and only 11% of schools have implemented a complete ban.[1]
• The Government’s most recent National Behaviour Survey found that 38% of teachers and 57% of pupils said that some, most or all lessons had been disrupted by mobile phones in the previous week.[2]
• Schools that ban smartphones entirely are more than twice as likely to be rated outstanding and deliver grades between 1-2 higher at GCSE than those without bans.[3]
• Countries such as France, China, Italy and some US states such as NY and Florida have already banned smartphones in schools.[4]
• There are always other options for children who need smartphones for health reasons; exceptions for medical reasons could be at the school’s discretion.

This is not about purchasing but about usage. Restricted devices and apps will be those that meet narrow safety and appropriateness criteria set in law (e.g. supporting only non-addictive functionalities), the more detailed specifications for which can be overseen by an independent kite marking authority which prioritises children’s wellbeing, such as the Children’s Commissioner. Incentives, including VAT, can be used to catalyse this as an attractive new market for manufacturers and distributors and as a cost-effective ‘healthier device choice’ for parents.
The Education Select Committee endorsed the above framework model in their latest report.
And if they don’t support this important call for change to protect children and support families, then why not?

A Parentkind survey in March 2024 showed that

• 58% of parents support the idea of introducing a ban on smartphones for those under 16, while 33% of parents oppose the idea.
• Parents of primary school-age children are ​“terrified”, as 77% back a ban on smartphones for children under 16 years old.
• 8 in 10 (83%) parents say smartphones harm children.

The Online Safety Act was passed into law in October 2023 with the promise that children would be safer online. Protecting children in the online space is essential and overdue, but based on our research, our conversations with technology experts and, most importantly, the experiences of so many parents, we are certain that the Act is, at best, only a very partial solution, unable to protect children from the obvious and present risks of smartphone addiction, the mechanisms tech companies have for controlling children’s attention and the psychological harm inflicted on our children via social media.
Even the protection it will achieve will not be in place until 2026. The Education Select Committee raised concerns when they said, “Although we welcome attempts by Ofcom to make platforms safer for children who use them, it is clear that the entire system surrounding the digital age of consent and how it is verified is not fit for purpose. Until there are robust age verification measures used on social media platforms, the digital age of consent will have little to no impact on protecting the data of underage users.”

Education is essential, but it has yet to have the breakthrough impact it should, given how the digital literacy programme in schools has been rolled out over the last decade.

If not share the information below. If so, ask them whether they will be standing up in the House to demand action and will they write to Education Secretary to demand that they follow the recommendations. 

The full report is here and the summary here 

The most important elements are

• The ESC recognise the seriousness of the situation

We are extremely concerned at the level of harmful content children and young people can be exposed to online, and how it can affect their mental health, physical health and educational outcomes. This is exacerbated for certain vulnerable groups who are more likely to be negatively affected and exposed to child criminal exploitation online.

The overwhelming weight of evidence submitted to us suggests that the harms of screen time and social media use significantly outweigh the benefits for young children, whereas limited use of screens and genuinely educational uses of digital technology can have benefits for older children.

• The ESC insists that the government swiftly address the harms.

 For children and adolescents alike the rapid rise of the use of screens and devices has come at a substantial cost and Government needs to do more across departments to protect them from addiction, online harms and the mental health impacts of extensive use of devices.

The next Government must work with Ofcom to ensure that there are no delays to implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 and set out how it is working with Ofcom to ensure children are protected during the transition period.

• The ESC are calling for a complete prohibition of smartphones in schools, coupled with the necessity for immediate monitoring.

They welcome the guidance to include no smartphones in schools including break times. The next Government should implement a formal monitoring mechanism to measure both the implementation and effects of the mobile phone ban. The results of this monitoring phase should be published and shared with schools. If results show that a non-statutory ban has been ineffective, the next Government must move swiftly to introduce a statutory ban.

• Recognizing the critical nature of parental education, especially during the early years, is essential for the well-being and development of children.

Advice to parents of babies and young children should be revised to ensure it gives sufficient attention to face-to-face interaction and warns of the risks of screen time in reducing opportunities for this. Adults should be encouraged to minimise use of devices where possible when supervising young children at a formative age and the Department for Education should commission advice for parents through family hubs and children’s centres on the healthy use of devices.

• Acknowledging that smartphones are “designed to be addictive” and need to be designed to support our children rather than harm them

The next Government should work alongside Ofcom to consult on additional measures regarding smartphones for children under 16 years old within the first year of the new Parliament. Measures to consider should include the total ban of smartphones (internet-enabled phones) for children under 16, parental controls installed as default on phones for under 16s, additional guidance for parents at point of sale and controls at App Store level to prevent children from accessing or utilising age-inappropriate content as well as controls at system level to prevent children uploading nude images. The next Government should work with mobile phone companies and network operators to promote children’s phones, a class of phone which can be used for contact and GPS location but not access to the internet or downloading apps

• Expressing serious concerns about Ofcom’s ability to deliver robust age verification measures and increasing the digital age of consent

Although we welcome attempts by Ofcom to make platforms safer for children who use them, it is clear that the entire system surrounding the digital age of consent and how it is verified is not fit for purpose. Until there are robust age verification measures used on social media platforms, the digital age of consent will have little to no impact Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing  on protecting the data of underage users. Now is also the time for a broader debate on the adequacy of the digital age of consent.The age of consent in the UK is 16, a child cannot drive until they are 17 and cannot vote in England until they are 18. We have heard no evidence to suggest that 13 is an appropriate age for children to understand the implications of allowing platforms access to their personal data online. Yet we know even with the digital age of consent currently formally set at the lowest possible level, it is widely ignored and not effectively enforced. This must change urgently.

The next Government must launch a consultation by the end of the year on whether 13 is a reasonable age of digital consent, or whether it should be raised. The next Government should recommend 16 as a more appropriate age.

• Concerns regarding the lack of any benefit and risk assessment of the digitalisation of education

The UK’s Edtech sector is the largest in Europe, and more schools in England are using Edtech and AI than ever before. Although edtech has some benefits, we are concerned about the implications of edtech and AI on children’s data and privacy. The Online Safety Act 2023 is exempted in school settings, AI is not regulated, and digital technology can harvest huge amounts of data from its users. The next Government should produce a risk assessment on the use of edtech and AI in schools as soon as possible, and particularly on the extent to which it poses a risk to the security of children’s data. The safety and reliability of edtech should also be assessed by Ofcom before it is introduced to schools, and periodically after it is brought into schools.