Headteachers need to “think carefully” about their school’s approach to mobile phones under Ofsted’s new inspection framework, Sir Martyn Oliver has warned in a letter seen by Vlog.
The Ofsted chief inspector was responding to from the Conservatives’ shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, in which she urged him to take a “stronger stance” on phones in schools.
Ms Trott, the MP for Sevenoaks, urged Ofsted to “formally recognise smartphone use in schools as a safeguarding issue”, meaning that schools would “fail the safeguarding check” if phones were out during the school day.
She also asked that inspectors’ conversations with school leaders during inspections routinely include “safeguarding from digital risks”.
In a reply seen by Vlog and sent before Ofsted’s new inspection framework was published in its final form, Sir Martyn expressed his support for phone bans in schools but stopped short of agreeing to Ms Trott’s requests.
He wrote: “Mobile phones are often a distraction and, with the growth of social media and messaging apps, can contribute to children’s anxiety.”
Sir Martyn’s letter, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also echoed a call he had made previously for heads to “ban, ban, ban” mobile phones.
Ofsted ‘explicit’ on phones in schools
His letter added: “Our renewed inspection framework is explicit that headteachers need to think carefully about their approach, especially in relation to children’s behaviour and safety.”
Phones are referenced in the to judge schools in the new report-card inspections, which states that inspectors will assess whether schools “have high expectations for all pupils’ attendance, behaviour and attitudes...including expectations related to mobile phones”.
Sir Martyn’s letter said that inspectors “will not penalise headteachers banning mobile phones”.
“These headteachers have my backing - and my inspectors’ backing - to protect children’s time in school for learning and socialising with their peers,” he wrote.
The Ofsted chief inspector also issued a rebuke to Ms Trott for showing her letter to journalists before he had received it. “In future, I would appreciate receiving any correspondence from you before it is sent to the press,” he wrote.
His letter did not respond directly to Ms Trott’s requests regarding the safeguarding check and conversations with leaders.
When asked by Vlog to clarify whether this meant Sir Martyn was not in favour of her suggestions, Ofsted declined to comment.
Labour resisting calls for ban
In Ofsted’s , published in December, Sir Martyn warned that social media was contributing to disruptive behaviour at school “by chipping away at attention spans and eroding the necessary patience for learning” and “by promoting disrespectful attitudes and behaviours”.
His report added: “It’s clear to me that schools need to help their pupils navigate the risks and pitfalls of their online lives, but there is no need to facilitate access on school grounds. Far better to provide children with sanctuary from their mobile devices once the school gates close.”
Ms Trott has repeatedly called for a national ban on phones in schools, but education secretary Bridget Phillipson has been adamant that legislation is not necessary.
A statutory ban is supported by the biggest teaching union, the NEU.
Earlier this year, Labour MPs defeated a Conservative amendment - supported by Liberal Democrat, Green Party and Reform UK MPs - to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would have forced heads to stop the use and carrying of phones by pupils in schools.
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