More than two in five teachers agree that mobile phones can be a teaching tool within schools, according to a poll.
In a survey of around 1,000 teachers, 20 per cent said unauthorised mobile phone use was the most common source of disruption in their classrooms.
The most disruptive behaviours identified in the poll were student chatter (cited by 80 per cent of respondents), inattention (75 per cent), inability to sit still (65 per cent) and disrespect towards other students (55 per cent).
And only 18 per cent of teachers listed a school-wide phone ban as one of the top three measures they believe would improve behaviour in their school.
Should mobile phones be banned in schools?
The poll findings, published today, come after Labour MP and former teacher Josh MacAlister introduced a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament last month calling for all schools in England to ban mobiles to protect children from harms caused by excessive screen time.
The YouGov poll, carried out for education technology exhibition Bett in August, asked teachers to select their top measures for improving pupil behaviour.
The most popular answer was to reduce class sizes - chosen by 57 per cent of respondents - followed by increased support for students with behavioural challenges (50 per cent) and consistent application of school behaviour policies by all staff.
Schools in England, under the previous Conservative government, were given guidance in February intended to stop the use of mobile phones during the school day, but it is currently non-statutory.
The poll of UK teachers shows a split on whether phones can be used as a teaching tool within schools: 41 per cent of respondents either somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that they can be used as a teaching tool, but a similar proportion (40 per cent) either somewhat disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Last month Downing Street signalled that the Labour government is unlikely to back Mr MacAlister’s bill because headteachers can already ban phones at their own discretion.
A Department for Education blog, published last month, said the use of mobile phones in schools “can lead to distractions, disruption and can increase the risk of online bullying” and they “have no place in classrooms”.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the poll showed that “views are clearly mixed about whether mobile phones can be used as learning tools in a manageable way”.
“Some people argue they are part of life and utilising them in supervised circumstances can provide valuable learning opportunities, while others feel they are always a potential distraction,” he added.
“However, we have reached a point where government guidance has fallen on the side of prohibiting their use entirely during the school day, including in lessons. Given increasing concern about the impact of this technology on young people, that may be a reasonable place to land.”
Mr Di’Iasio said ASCL’s bigger concern was about the use of phones outside of school time, “which is where problems such as cyberbullying, addictive behaviour and exposure to inappropriate content generally happen”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “Individual schools know their pupils and communities, so are best placed to make decisions on phone use based upon what works for them and for their pupils’ education and wellbeing.”
He added: “Schools already have the power to implement their own policies on mobile phones, and most have clear guidelines in place, which they review regularly.”
Duncan Verry, portfolio director at Bett, said the research indicates that teachers take a “balanced” view of mobile technology in schools.
“They’re clear-eyed about both the challenges and benefits of phones in educational settings. Rather than seeing phones as purely disruptive, many teachers recognise they could be useful learning tools when managed well,” he said.
“What’s particularly striking is that teachers view phone use as a relatively minor disruption compared to traditional classroom management challenges.”
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