Smartphone bans in schools don’t improve grades or wellbeing, study finds

Banning smartphones in schools does not improve students’ academic performance or wellbeing, according to a University of Birmingham study. While excessive phone use is linked to lower grades, poor sleep, and disruptive behaviour, researchers found no significant difference in pupil performance between schools with and without phone bans.

Published in Lancet’s Regional Health Europe, the study analysed 1,227 students from  30 secondary schools across England. It found that restricting phone use in school alone did not reduce overall screen time, suggesting that a wider strategy is needed to address the issue.

Lead author Dr. Victoria Goodyear stressed that bans should be part of a broader approach to managing phone and social media use both in and out of school. The research reinforces concerns about the impact of excessive screen time but suggests that simply banning phones in classrooms is not an effective solution.

ESL’s Victoria Myers, said: “In a world dominated by mobile technology we need to keep our focus on the key things for young people: balanced  nutrition, good education and  a warm healthy environment.These are vital. And they all come at a cost. Schools need to ensure they do not pay over the odds for these things so money can go on improving the education environment.”