Smartphones in Schools - Teacher Survey - April 2025

Teacher Survey - Smartphones in schools - April 2025

Smartphones are currently banned in an estimated 11% of UK government state schools (ref: Smart Phone Free Childhood) and with The London Borough of Barnet set to introduce an all-out ban across its 103 primary and 23 secondary schools from September 2025, momentum for smartphones to be banned in all schools is growing. The Netflix drama Adolescence has also recently turbo-charged interest in the subject and it seems that only Prime Minister Keir Starmer seems to think differently, recently branding a ban on smartphones in schools as “completely unnecessary” during Prime Minister’s Question Time (Wednesday 26th March 2025).

With the smartphone free movement picking up speed, Teaching Abroad Direct wanted to find out what teachers think about smartphones in schools. What are they seeing in the classroom and do they think smartphones should be banned?

To find out we recently surveyed 351 teachers, and the results make very interesting reading:

• 76% of Teachers have had a problem with a student using a smartphone in class.
• 96% of teachers think students are less focused on their learning with smart phone access in Schools.
• 91% of teachers think students under the age of 16 that use smartphones risk damaging their mental health.

• 66% of teachers have witnessed a safeguarding issue in school as a result of a student using a smartphone.
• 72% of teachers have seen students being bullied through the use of smartphones at school.
• 75% of teachers have witnessed students filming other students on their phones.

• 62% of teachers think some students are afraid to attend school due to the fear of being filmed and/or bullied through smartphone use.
• 77% of teachers think smartphones should be banned outright in all schools.
   

Is it time to ban smartphones in schools? Most teachers certainly think so!