In Parliament this month, Dr Neil Hudson, Member of Parliament for Epping Forest, has called on the Government to support the educational chances of Epping Forest's pupils by mandating a ban on smartphones in UK schools, during Education Questions in Parliament.
Evidence from bodies such as UNESCO and the OECD has presented compelling evidence that the use of smartphones can have negative impacts on pupils’ learning, disrupting their learning in the classroom, their overall attainment, and it can also impact their mental health from the impacts of social media.
Dr Hudson took the opportunity at Education Questions to therefore push the Government to reconsider their current stance, amidst the growing evidence and popular support for bans on smartphones in schools from the pupils he has met at schools across Epping Forest.
The Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch have long pushed for the Government to mandate a ban on smartphones in our schools, raising this at Prime Minister’s Questions and tabling an amendment to their Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which would have brought in a ban, which Labour opposed.
During the Parliamentary Education Questions session, Dr Hudson said:
“Many of the young people that I meet in schools across Epping Forest are very clear, when they are at school, they agree with their local school policy of restricting mobile phones. But sadly, this Government has repeatedly refused our Conservative calls to protect our children, with a national ban on phones in schools even voting against it, Mr. Speaker, when bodies like UNESCO and the OECD are crystal clear about the negative impacts of phones on young people's education.
When will this government listen, listen to the evidence and our school leaders, and support a ban on smartphones in schools for the sake of our young people's education and their mental health?”
Following Education Questions, Dr Hudson commented:
“Meeting with pupils across my constituency has made clear that our young people are very aware of the harms that smartphones can cause in an educational setting: disruption in the classroom, poorer attainment, and negative effects on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Our young people, school leaders and the evidence from world-leading bodies like UNESCO and OECD all agree on this, so it is simply staggering Labour’s response is in the face of this is to refuse a ban.
I will always do what I can to promote the life chances of the young people of Epping Forest, even when the Government refuse to.”
