Recently, I was lucky enough to be a part of the audience watching Sir Ian McKellen as Hamlet in a stage production in Windsor.

On the same day, the UK media was reporting that Gavin Williamson was calling for a ban on mobile phones in schools.

Driving home, there was lively debate about this issue on the radio. To ban or not to ban? That seemed to be the question. But was it the right one to be asking?

Background: DfE backing school mobile phone bans

Advice: How we rolled out a successful school mobile phone ban

News: Banning phones can be ‘very easy’, say some schools

Big read: The Scottish schools banning phones

Before we get to that, it is worth taking a moment to consider the arguments for and against mobile phones in schools.

The arguments for include providing access to apps that can help learning, including the internet.

Trying to ban mobile phones in schools is a battle

The arguments against include distracting students from the things they should be focusing on, including socialising with friends at break and lunchtime, and the risks of bullying, for example via social media.

On balance, I am of the view that the arguments against outweigh the arguments for. However, like many of the callers to the BBC Radio 2 programme I was listening to, I’m not convinced that a ban on mobile phones in schools is the way forward.

One of the callers suggested that the word “ban” was a red herring. It implied that mobile phone issues in schools were the result of students having their phone with them, when, actually, it was more about how and when they were used. This is an important point.

If we start to talk about banning mobile phones in schools, we risk getting into a battle that cannot be won. Mobile phones have become such an integral part of day-to-day life that to tell students they can’t bring them to school is the equivalent of holding up a very large red flag to a very large herd of bulls.

What’s more, many parents wouldn’t support this. Why start an argument with students and parents that doesn’t need to be had? Short of stop-and-search security at the school gates, a ban on mobile phones would be incredibly difficult to enforce.

Rather than trying to ban mobile phones in schools, it seems less contentious and more practical to instead set clear rules about when they can and can’t be used.

When I started as rector of a state secondary school in Scotland last August, this was one of the first things we did: we became a “mobile phone-free school”. Rather than ban phones, we said that students could bring them, but they weren’t to be seen, heard or used at any time whilst in the school building.

There was immediate buy-in with very little grumbling from anyone. As a result, we rarely see a phone in the building. When we do, a subtle look or a polite “Put your phone away, please” suffices.

Not everyone agrees that such rules are necessary. Returning to the debate on Radio 2, a different caller suggested that the key was to educate students about how to use their phone appropriately.

I agree that education is a part of the solution, but it would be naïve to believe that just because we educate students about how to use their phone in school, we will see model behaviour.

Like most adults, I am “phone-educated”. I fully understand when I should and shouldn’t be using my phone.

But that doesn’t stop me using it when I know I shouldn’t. My mobile phone has something of a superpower when it comes to grabbing my attention and distracting me from what I am supposed to be doing. It does this in cafes, on the golf course, in front of the TV, and when I am in the company of friends. I know I am not alone. Do we really think it is any easier for students to resist the allure of their phone in school?

If they are allowed to use phones in corridors and the canteen, many will. If they have the option between social media and study, it seems fairly obvious which is more attractive. Clear rules help students to make better choices and to focus on things that are most important in school: learning and human interaction.

To ban or not to ban probably isn’t the right question to be asking. “When to use and not to use?” should be a much more useful one for schools to consider.

Here are five tips for establishing a mobile phone-free school:

• Don’t try to ban phones altogether - it’s too big a battle and very difficult to enforce.
• Be crystal clear in your own mind about the specific points in the school day when phones are and aren’t allowed to be used, including where.
• Keep the rules simple to help avoid misunderstandings and inconsistencies.
• Communicate rules clearly with staff, students and parents.
• Correct non-compliance quickly and in as low-key a way as possible. You don’t need to use a mallet to crack a nut.

Bruce Robertson is rector of Berwickshire High School and author of The Teaching Delusion trilogy