Smartphone free schools: what does the evidence say?

Increased academic performance and learning

When phones are removed from the school day, academic attainment improves.

This study from the Policy Exchange think-tank found that students at smartphone-free schools get GCSE results 1-2 grades higher.
A number of studies, including this one found that that the ‘mere presence’ of a phone, even if it’s not being used, can ‘result in attentional and performance deficits.’
A randomised control trial of 17,000 students published in August 2025 found that mandatory in-class phone collection led to higher grades, particularly amongst the lower-achieving students, less disruptive behaviour and increased engagement. The authors concluded that in-class phone bans represent a "low-cost, effective policy to modestly improving improve academic outcomes, especially for vulnerable student groups."
A UK study, done across four English cities, found that student performance in GCSE results ‘significantly increases post ban.’ The impact was particularly profound for lower-achieving students. The authors conclude that a ban can be a ‘low-cost policy to reduce educational inequalities.’
One meta-analysis found that smartphone addiction has negative impacts on student learning and overall academic performance, with greater phone use while studying leading to a greater negative impact on learning.

A safer environment

Removing smartphones safeguards students from harmful content and bullying.

In a September 2025 study from UWE, which surveyed secondary school pupils, teachers and parents, 70 percent of teachers witnessed conflict in school (which may have started outside of school) due to smartphones, and 65 per cent witnessed bullying due to smartphone use. 64.7% of teachers said they'd prefer some form of stricter phone policy
This Policy Exchange report found that schools with strong smartphone bans report fewer issues with cyberbullying, and exposure to inappropriate content.
A Spanish study conducted in two autonomous regions which had restricted phones, found that within two years, PISA scores in both maths and science had increased significantly (the equivalent of between 0.6 and 1.0 years of learning). The bans also led to a reduction in bullying.

Banning phones from schools can reduce anxiety and boost social interaction.

A recent study from from Norway found that banning mobile phones in schools could have a positive impact on the psychological health outcomes and academic outcomes of girls. This was particularly pronounced in girls from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The study also found that banning phones led to a reduction in bullying of both boys and girls. The author, Sara Abrahamsson concludes that restricting smartphones at school could be a low-cost policy tool to improve student outcomes, but only if it is disincentivises children from bringing a device into school in the first place.
In a recent survey of secondary school teachers by UWE, 70 per cent of teachers observed tiredness in pupils due to smartphone use.

Schools are in a powerful position to give young people, especially vulnerable children, a break from addictive technology and online harm.

A study by King’s College London, published in BMC Psychiatry, November 2019 estimates 25% of children and young people have "Problematic Smartphone Use", using their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction. PSU is defined as any behaviour linked to smartphones that has the features of an addiction, such as feeling panicky or upset when the phone is unavailable, finding it difficult to control the amount of time spent on the phone and using the phone to the detriment of other enjoyable activities.
Teenagers with PSU are more likely to have mental health problems: a 2020 study by the National Institute for Health and Care Research assessed the phone use and mental health, including anxiety, depression, and insomnia, of 657 pupils in English schools over five weeks. Nearly 20% self-reported PSU. Those who reported PSU were twice as likely to be anxious and nearly three times as likely to be depressed compared to those who did not report PSU.

Vulnerable children need a break the most: Refuge and Risk, a 2021 report by Internet Matters - found the UK's two million most vulnerable children are seven times more likely to come to harm online than their peers. 40% of children with three or more vulnerabilities (eg autism, living in care or having an eating disorder) had experienced cyberbullying or racist or homophobic comments, compared with 11% of their peers.

"There are very few things you would say have been transformational in education, but this is one of them."

Damian McBeath, Principal of John Wallis Academy