Hansard

I am pleased to update Parliament on the Scottish Government’s new guidance on mobile phones in schools and on our joint action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I know that the topic is of great interest to colleagues from across the chamber and to their constituents.

When we debated the topic back in March, I said that we are all striving for our schools and classrooms to be free from violence and disruption so that our young people can learn and our teaching staff can work safely. In recognition of that shared aspiration, in April, I had a constructive meeting with education spokespeople from Opposition parties to discuss our work on relationships and behaviour and to provide them with the opportunity to feed in their priorities to the action plan.

I begin by reminding colleagues of the key findings of the behaviour in Scottish schools research that we published in November last year. That externally commissioned research involved almost 4,000 school staff across Scotland and provides a nationally representative picture of what is happening in our schools. Although there will be local variations, it provides robust evidence on which to base the action plan and guidance on mobile phones.

What BISSR shows—a key point that we should not lose sight of—is that most children and young people are generally well behaved in class and around school. However, I accept that that research also tells us, as does the evidence that has been gathered by our teaching unions and has come through the series of relationships and behaviour summits that I chaired last year, that behaviour is absolutely not where it should be and that, post-pandemic, things have become much more challenging in our classrooms, for a range of reasons. With that in mind, I wish to begin with the development of the refreshed guidance on mobile phone use.

Recently, I have been reading “The Anxious Generation”, by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, which highlights the broad impact on young people of increased access to smartphones, screens and social media. The impacts that he highlights—such as poor mental health, addiction, and sleep deprivation—are all factors that impact on young people’s readiness to learn. It is clear from BISSR but also from the programme for international student assessment that mobile phones are having a substantial impact in our classrooms, disrupting learning and often causing conflict.

When I launched the mobile phone guidance at Stonelaw high school in Rutherglen last month, I heard directly from pupils and staff about the impact of mobile phones on their day-to-day classroom experience. Before the summer, nearly 700 pupils monitored and mined their own screen time during one period of personal and social education. Some of their teachers also took part in the exercise. Pupils and teachers alike were shocked by the results. On average, each pupil received 18 notifications during that one-hour lesson. Multiply that by the number of pupils in a class, and we can see how much disruption is caused to pupils’ concentration.

Members will know that, as cabinet secretary, I do not currently have the power to ban mobile phones. However, the updated national guidance goes as far towards a national ban as I am currently able to go, by setting out the Government’s clear support for whole-school bans. Our headteachers are empowered to take the steps that they consider appropriate to create an environment that is free from the disruption that is caused by mobile phones—an environment in which pupils are better able to focus on their learning and actively listen to one another, and which supports positive relationships between peers and with staff. If such an environment is best created by banning phones in the entirety of the school estate and for the entirety of the school day, the guidance supports such a decision.

Headteachers know their schools best, and the guidance provides them with the flexibility that works for them and their local context. At Stonelaw, for example, following engagement with pupils, parents and staff, the school has prohibited mobile phones in learning and teaching areas during learning and teaching time. That protects the learning environment while respecting the personal time of children and young people during breaks. When I spoke to the staff and pupils, I heard that they appreciated the school taking that balanced approach. They spoke about the trust placed in pupils through allowing the continued use of mobile phones in certain areas and at certain times. The privilege that was given to them by their teachers was not something that pupils wanted to abuse. Fundamentally, they recognised that, for them, a successful approach required a bit of give and take, and the adoption of a collaborative approach helped everyone to approach the changes positively.

I turn now to the joint action plan on relationships and behaviour, which I also launched during my visit to Stonelaw. As I have done every time that I have spoken on this topic in the chamber, I reiterate that our schools should be safe and consistent learning environments for all pupils and staff. However, from the engagement that I have undertaken over the past year, it has been clear that relationships and behaviour in our schools have changed since the pandemic. Although discussions in the chamber have often focused on increases in violence and aggression, we have also heard that the challenges are far more wide ranging and complex.

Schools are dealing with a wide variety of challenges that they would not have faced five or 10 years ago. Those include children and young people who are much less mature than expected, with difficulties communicating their emotions and navigating social dynamics; many who struggle with their mental health, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the stress that has been caused by the cost-of-living crisis; the rise of right-wing influencers, which has an impact on the prevalence of misogyny towards pupils and staff; and, as I have said, the prevalence of mobile phones, which disrupt learning and teaching.

The behaviour action plan is therefore ambitious in responding to that wide variety of concerns. It contains 20 overarching actions under eight themes that we will take forward over the next three years. These actions address not only violence but the breadth of areas identified as being priorities, including consequences; recording and monitoring; children and young people’s wellbeing; attendance; and empowering staff to reinforce positive relationships and behaviour. The plan balances setting clear national direction through the provision of guidance and developing capacity through enhanced practical guidance and support for local authorities and schools delivered by organisations such as Education Scotland.

Importantly, the plan is jointly owned by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, given that the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education rests with our councils. The plan has been developed in collaboration with the Scottish advisory group for relationships and behaviour in schools—SAGRABIS—which includes COSLA, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, Education Scotland, the Educational Institute of Scotland, the NASUWT, the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association, the Association of Heads and Deputes in Scotland, School Leaders Scotland, Unison, the Scottish Council of Deans of Education, educational psychologists, respectme and parents representatives.

The value of the plan having been developed by SAGRABIS and all the partners I just mentioned is that all the partners who have a role in implementing the plan have also helped to shape the priorities and actions within it. SAGRABIS will monitor the implementation of the plan over the next three years and will adjust it as necessary in light of any emerging issues, including those that are brought to us by the teaching profession.

I want to acknowledge the frustration that some colleagues have felt about how long it has taken to publish the action plan. I had intended to publish it before the summer but, having considered the advice on activity during the United Kingdom Parliament pre-election period, I took the decision to launch as soon as possible in the new school term.

I want to provide reassurance to colleagues that, while we have been developing the plan, we have continued to implement action to support schools and their staff. The new mobile phone guidance is an example of that, but it does not stand on its own. Rather, it supplements the suite of support that has been announced since last November, including new funding for training of support staff in direct response to findings of the behaviour in Scottish schools research that staff would welcome such training; new guidance on preventing and responding to gender-based violence in schools to address emerging trends surrounding misogyny; additional data and support to improve attendance, including guidance on professional learning, networking and exemplification launched by Education Scotland last week; and support spearheaded by our new interim chief inspector to ensure that His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education inspections support improvement.

The progress that I have set out today is not the end of our journey. We will continue to focus on and bring forward actions over the coming weeks and months. That includes the publication later this year of refreshed guidance on anti-bullying, work on consequences and additional information to enhance understanding of secondary 4 leavers was published this morning.

The development of the mobile phone guidance and the action plan was a collaborative effort involving many stakeholders, not just those in SAGRABIS but all those who participated in the behaviour in Scottish schools research and the relationships and behaviour summits, or who have spoken to me about their experiences in the classroom or supporting their child. I thank everyone who has shared their experiences with us to inform this important work.

I recognise that there are unlikely to be quick, easy fixes in addressing these challenges—neither can nor should they be addressed by schools alone. It will take sustained effort by everyone who has a role to play to improve the situation. The willingness of all to have constructive conversations about the scale of the challenge and the actions that are needed means that I am confident that that shared commitment exists.

Presiding Officer, in that spirit, I very much hope that everyone across the chamber can support the plan and the trajectory that it puts in place to improve relationships and behaviour in Scotland’s schools for the benefit of our children and young people, our teaching staff and our whole school community.