Where school phone policy stands

Guidance on mobile phones in schools first appeared in February 2024 and was not statutory. It was replaced in January 2026 with firmer wording: phone-free across the school day by default, with exceptions considered individually. Ofsted began assessing phone policy at every inspection from the same month. On 29 June 2026 the duty to have regard to that guidance came into force under section 36 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, applying to state-funded schools in England.

Having regard to guidance is not the same as complying with it. A school may depart from the guidance where it has considered it and has a reason, which makes the practical change an evidential one: the reason has to exist at the point the decision is made, and be recorded.

The scope reaches beyond phones. Devices with comparable functionality are covered, defined by what they can do rather than what they are, and the school day is defined to include lessons, movement between them, break and lunch. The January update kept the room for individual adaptations, including to support a pupil’s medical condition and to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils, and those statutory duties are unaffected by the new footing. Published inspector commentary has concentrated on whether a policy is applied consistently rather than on how it is drafted.

Two things the guidance does not settle

Devices that are not phones. The functional test describes capabilities but supplies no worked examples and no definition of where each capability begins, which matters most for the notification limb. Alongside it sits an indication that the covered device list is set by each school. Schools are consequently reaching different conclusions on identical products, and are entitled to. There is a separate page on how that plays out.

Storage and searching. Handed in, pouched, locked away or not brought on site, the choice is left open and the guidance indicates no preference. Each route carries a different practical and liability profile. Phones and comparable devices also need to appear in the list of items pupils may be searched for, which sits in a different DfE document.