Wales to issue statutory guidance restricting mobile phones in schools

The Welsh Government has announced plans to issue statutory guidance to schools to restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day. The move aims to establish a consistent national approach to device management across all educational settings in Wales.

According to official government data, the decision follows a workforce survey in which 82% of respondents backed the introduction of statutory restrictions. The upcoming guidance is designed to set clear national expectations for both local authorities and schools regarding how phones are managed during instructional hours. Anna Brychan, the Cabinet Minister for Education and Welsh Language, has stated that she fully supports and strongly encourages headteachers to implement robust restrictions, which may include a full ban across the entire school site, provided that medical exceptions are maintained.

The push for consistency

This initiative arrives as part of a broader trend across the UK to limit digital devices in classrooms to minimize distractions and reduce disruption. While many individual schools in Wales had already developed their own internal policies, the lack of a unified framework led to significant inconsistency between institutions. By transitioning from optional, school-level rules to statutory national guidance, the government intends to provide a standardized baseline for all educators.

This effort is integrated into a wider set of education priorities for the Welsh Government, which include raising overall academic standards and strengthening the presence and use of the Welsh language within the school system.

Impact on the learning environment

Standardizing phone restrictions is intended to create a safer and more focused learning environment for students. The government seeks to eliminate the variability in how rules are applied, thereby supporting teachers in their efforts to manage classroom disruption and mitigate the risks associated with online harms.

By removing the burden of creating disparate policies, the statutory guidance allows school leadership to focus on enforcement and student engagement rather than policy drafting. The shift reflects a growing recognition that unregulated device access can undermine the educational experience and student wellbeing.

Future outlook

As Wales moves toward these restrictions, the government is also assessing separate plans announced by the UK Government regarding new restrictions on social media access for children under the age of 16. It remains to be seen how these broader digital safety measures will integrate with the specific on-site phone restrictions being implemented in Welsh schools.

Education officials will now look to the finalization of the statutory guidance to determine the exact parameters of the "robust restrictions" encouraged by Minister Brychan and how local authorities will be expected to oversee compliance.