We’ve all seen how smartphones are changing childhood, and not for the better.
That’s why I welcome the government’s move to amend the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to ban mobile phones in schools after accepting recommendations to turn existing guidance into a legal requirement. Classrooms should be places to learn, not scroll.
I’ve said before that the Online Safety Act doesn’t go far enough. This is a step in the right direction, but there’s more to do to properly clean-up social media.
That includes backing the consultation on restricting social media use for under 16s. Social media brings opportunities, but it also brings very real harms with big tech companies too often failing to take responsibility for the platforms they run. Keeping children safe, online and offline, can’t wait.
Let’s get on with it.
Head to https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/20/mobile-phones-statutory-ban-schools-england-bill-amendment to see more
Jim McMahon OBE MP 