An update on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - Smartphones in Schools

On 20 April 2026 Minister for Skills, the Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern confirmed in parliament the current guidance will become statutory:

“We are committing to [...] place the existing guidance on a statutory footing in the Bill, creating a clear legal requirement for schools.”

On 22 April 2026 Minister for Early Education, Olivia Bailey, confirmed in parliament that NSNH policies have been removed from the statutory guidance:

“We are categorically crystal clear there is no access to phones at any point during the school day… We have removed from the guidance we have published any reference to any kind of “not seen not heard” policy in the case studies.”

On 27 April 2026 Minister for Skills, the Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, confirmed in parliament that Not Seen or Heard policies in practice allow “access” to smartphones, which is why they have been removed from the guidance:

“The Noble Lady rightly raises the point of schools which have Never Seen Never Heard policies which can in practice allow children to access their phones during the school day. We share this concern which is why we updated the soon to be statutory guidance to be explicit that pupils should “not have access to their mobile phones throughout the school day including during lessons, the time between lessons, break times and lunchtimes.””

She also committed to updating the guidance no later than September 2027 if no improvement was seen in the implementation of phone policies.

In a ministerial meeting earlier that day, Olivia Bailey confirmed to Baroness Barran that the government does not expect schools to allow pupils to keep smartphones in their pockets or bags. Baroness Barran explained this in the House:

“She stated clearly in our meeting that she did not want children distracted by a smartphone vibrating in their pocket or in their book bag and we agree with her entirely.”