England's phone-free schools guidance became statutory

The short answer

In February 2024, the Department for Education told schools in England to prohibit mobile phone use throughout the entire school day, not only in lessons, though at that point this was advice schools could depart from rather than a legal requirement; as retrieved on 16 September 2026, the guidance has since been revised and made statutory.

What the evidence says

According to the government's publication page for the guidance, "Mobile phones in schools" was first published on 19 February 2024 as non-statutory guidance for schools in England, meaning head teachers were expected to have regard to it without being legally bound to follow it. The guidance's core position, as recorded on the guidance document itself, retrieved on 16 September 2026, is that all schools should be mobile phone-free environments by default, with anything else by exception only, a standard covering lessons, transitions, breaks and lunchtimes rather than classroom time alone. The document leaves the method to each head teacher, giving examples such as handing phones in at the start of the day or storing them in lockers, while allowing limited exceptions for sixth-form pupils at defined times, for pupils with a medical need such as a glucose monitor linked to a phone, and for reasonable adjustments required under the Equality Act 2010 for disabled pupils. The same publication page records that the guidance was revised on 19 January 2026 and became statutory on 29 June 2026, with schools expected to follow it from 1 September 2026.

For context

Because this is a living government document rather than a fixed historical text, what counts as "the guidance" has changed since 2024: a school that could depart from advice in 2024 for a documented reason is, on the record as it now stands, expected to follow a statutory version. This entry describes the document as originally issued and as it stands on retrieval, and a reader checking the current legal status should consult the live gov.uk page rather than treat 2024 as the final word. The guidance addresses phone access, not the separate question of school-issued devices or school computers, which typically sit under different policies.

A practical next step

You could ask your child's school which version of the mobile phone guidance its current policy reflects, and whether its exceptions for medical needs or sixth-form pupils are written down anywhere a parent can read.

• Is my child's school treating this guidance as advice it can depart from, or as a rule it must follow?
• What exception process exists for a medical device that relies on a phone, such as a glucose monitor?
• Has the school's policy been updated to reflect the guidance's later, statutory version?

The shift from advice to a statutory requirement over two years is a reminder that a school phone policy citing "government guidance" describes a moving document, and the date attached to that citation matters as much as the fact of its existence.