Mobile phones to be banned in all East Lothian classrooms

Mobile phones will be banned in all primary and secondary school classrooms in East Lothian.

Secondary school pupils will have to put their devices in pouches during lessons when the new system is introduced in October, after it was backed by councillors.

Primary one to primary three pupils will not be allowed to bring mobiles to school, while older primary school aged children will have to put them in a lock box during lessons.

East Lothian councillors decided phones cannot be used in learning areas or corridors, but are allowed in designated social spaces during break and lunchtime.

Surveys were carried out among pupils of all ages, teachers and parents and carers to gather views on mobile phone use.

The consultation on the issue found 98% of secondary school pupils owned a mobile phone and brought it to school, but more than 80% said they never or rarely used it in class.

Half of staff felt pupils should be allowed to use phones during break and lunchtimes and 56.7% of parents believe phones have a place for young people but should not be used during any part of the school day.

Councillors chose not to introduce a blanket ban for primary schools after the consultation revealed many use them for communication when travelling to and from school.

An exemption policy will be developed for pupils who need access to a phone during the day for health or other reasons.

The new policy comes after East Lothian Council rolled out personal laptops to every secondary child and reduced the ratio of shared laptops in primary schools to one per two pupils.

The council added the pouch system could be rolled out for £4,725 following a pilot programme at Dunbar Grammar School, with the cost of lockable boxes for primary school estimated at just over £8,000.

Councillor Fiona Dugdale, cabinet member for education and children and family services, said the policy would help pupils disconnect and improve their concentration.

She said: "By rolling out individual chromebooks at secondary schools and increasing stocks in primary schools, pupils continue to have access to the digital tools they need to succeed.

"This balance allows teachers and learners to embrace the opportunities that digital learning offers without the distractions a phone brings."

Councillor Colin Yorkston, a former Edinburgh secondary school teacher, said he welcomed the new policy having experienced issues with pupils in schools in the past.

"I have had first hand experience of the addictive nature and behaviour some students have for their phones, they just cannot put them down," he said.

"I think this is going to give them freedom from their phones in classes."

Earlier this year, Education Secretary Màiri McAllan announced that all school learning environments would become phone-free.

She urged schools across Scotland to act before the government introduced new legislation.

The Scottish government introduced guidance allowing head teachers to bring in their own phone bans in schools in 2024.

It came after a 2022 study which showed that about a third of pupils in Scottish classrooms admitted they had been distracted by the devices.