Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2026 [Draft]
This extremely important subject is more pressing than many of the things that we debate in Parliament, and I thank Pam Gosal for bringing it to the chamber.
We know that schools, and the teachers and pupils in them, face a range of challenges, which we also know are not exclusive to Scotland. Across the UK and beyond, authorities are really struggling to deal with the growing influence and impact of social media and the toxicity that accompanies mobile phones. We cannot control everything, but we can control what is allowed in classrooms. Every teacher I have spoken to agrees that phones must be banned from the classroom. Most parents agree, and many children are actually on board so long as the policy is fair and absolute, with no exceptions.
As a parent, I instinctively know that the concerns relating to smart phones are completely legitimate. Anyone with eyes and ears can see the harm and distractions that those devices cause for young people, and there is also hard evidence. The organisation One Collective Power, which campaigns for the welfare and wellbeing of schoolchildren across the country, has presented some extremely powerful statistics, including that the average teenager spends five and a half hours on their device each day, that phones and social media increase the likelihood of depression, especially in girls, and that kids at smartphone-free schools have higher levels of attainment. The position should be obvious to us all: phones in schools fuel distraction and conflict, pose nightmare scenarios for teachers and inflict harm in almost every area of the school, from classrooms and corridors to the playground.
That is not the children’s fault, nor is it exclusive to them. We adults also struggle to put our phones down when we know we should. We have all kept watching videos and clips and kept scrolling for far longer than is healthy. Even during long debates in this chamber, we can see members checking their devices rather than engaging with the content at hand—we are all at it. There is a role for grown-ups in setting an example rather than pretending that the issue affects only children.
The solution is in front of us. There should be an outright ban, across the whole country, on phones in schools, with no exceptions, exemptions or compromise. The Scottish Government has said that headteachers have the power to impose a ban in any case, but we must go further and give them our full support. MSPs, MPs, local councillors and people of influence must all get behind a ban, because that will make it easier for teachers to enforce and will send a clear signal to pupils and parents that the rules are clear and unambiguous.
We would soon see the benefits. Teachers have already told me that when children do not have their phones, their engagement improves. They learn better and take part in more activities. Remarkably, they even start speaking to one another. They improve their communication skills. They make new friendships and cement existing ones. They go back to having a life that is not lived on the tiny screen in front of them.
From the minute a pupil walks into a school, there should be no mobile phones in sight. That is what the teachers want and what the children need. That is why I am delighted to give this motion my full and unequivocal support.
Since I have finished within my four minutes of time, I would like to say good luck to Audrey Nicoll, who I have had the pleasure of working with on the Criminal Justice Committee for the past session. To you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and to everyone else who is leaving, I wish good luck in the future.