Badenoch urges PM to ‘U-turn’ and ensure all schools enforce mobile phone ban

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to “U-turn” and support proposals to ensure all schools in England enforce a mobile phone ban.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch questioned why the Government opposed a Tory amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require schools to ban the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Prime Minister Sir Keir described the proposal as “completely unnecessary” as he claimed “almost every school” already bans phones.

He added the “emerging battle” is about the content children can access on their phones regardless of their location.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs Badenoch began by claiming Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is “making a mess of her brief”.

She asked: “Why did Labour MPs vote against banning phones in schools last week?”

Sir Keir replied: “Because it’s completely unnecessary. I’ve got teenage children. Almost every school bans phones in school. They do it already.

“We need to concentrate on what’s really important here, which is getting to the content that children shouldn’t be accessing. That’s where I would genuinely like to work across the House because I think there’s a huge amount of work to do.

“But the battle is not with schools that are already banning phones in school.

“The battle, and this is an important emerging battle, is to work together to ensure that we can ensure that the content that children are accessing wherever they are is suitable for their age.”

Mrs Badenoch countered: “If the ban is ‘unnecessary’, then why is it that they started a review?

“Just last week his Education Secretary called a ban a ‘gimmick’, yet teachers and headteachers already say the evidence already shows that schools that ban phones get better results.”

Mrs Badenoch claimed that one in 10 schools are smartphone free and added: “So, will he U-turn on this?”

Sir Keir replied: “We need to ensure that all schools do this – but the vast majority do.”

He added: “It is really important that we focus on the battle we have to have with mobile phones, which is the content that children are able to access.

“We need to ensure that that is controlled wherever they are, so it’s a question of having the right battle on the right issue, not wasting time on something where almost all schools are already banning mobile phones.”

Sir Keir later insisted the Government is “pushing up standards” in education.

Mrs Badenoch said: “His own Government evidence says that phones disrupt nearly half of GCSE classes every single day, discipline is the number one issue in many schools.

“Under the Conservatives, schools became twice as likely to be good or outstanding after going through our behaviour programme.

“So why did the Education Secretary abolish that programme?”

Sir Keir replied: “She talks about the record of the last government, under their watch a third of children started school without appropriate level development, and that is not being able to use a knife and fork, a quarter left primary school without the required standard of reading, writing and math, one in five was regularly absent.

“That is why we’re pushing up standards, more information from Ofsted, transparency for parents, more interventions where schools need it.”

Mrs Badenoch went on to claim Sir Keir “doesn’t care about discipline in schools” and “everything he does is ideological”.

The Prime Minister denied this charge, adding: “I’m a parent of two teenage children, both of whom go to a state school, so I invested in this and it matters hugely to me, there’s nothing ideological about it.

“That is why we’re driving up standards as we always have done.”

Mrs Badenoch also asked if the Government would compensate schools for the “jobs tax” linked to an increase in employer national insurance increases.

She added: “Can he guarantee no teacher will lose their job as a result of his jobs tax?”

Sir Keir defended the Government’s record on education spending, to which Mrs Badenoch replied: “The whole House will have heard he could not guarantee that teachers’ jobs are safe.”