Parents' fury as councillors vote to let pupils use mobile phones in the classroom

A child using mobile phones. Image for illustration only. (Photo by DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)

Parents have expressed fury after councillors gave the green light to allowing mobile phones in the classroom.

East Dunbartonshire officials approved a new policy that says pupils should be entitled to have phones in lessons - but prohibits them from watching harmful material.

A parents’ group fighting for a ban on smartphones said the policy was “not fit for purpose” and “puts children at risk”.

By contrast, councillors in Edinburgh this week voted on an authority-wide ban on smartphones in school.

A spokeswoman for East Dunbartonshire Smartphone Free Childhood Parent Group, a group of parents who have campaigned for child safety within schools, said: “This policy is not fit for purpose.

“It ignores evidence, puts children at risk, and leaves schools to deal with the fallout. Safeguarding is a duty, not a tick-box exercise.”

Complaints were lodged with councillors about EDC’s draft smartphone policy for schools, citing reports that smartphone use in schools leads to harms including distraction, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, and even covert filming.

However, at a committee meeting on Thursday East Dunbartonshire councillors approved the policy.

A motion to exclude mobile phones from use during lessons in secondary schools was not seconded, meaning that pupils can even use their phones in class.

The parents’ spokeswoman added: “This is a critical safeguarding failure.

“There is clear national evidence of children being exposed to violent, sexual and extremist content on classmates’ phones, and testimony from local parents and community police have shown this to be happening within East Dunbartonshire schools.”

A consultation carried out in May by the council found found 93 per cent of primary teachers to be in favour of a full-day ban, with 88 per cent of secondary teachers saying phones disrupt lessons. Nearly half of secondary teachers reported that pupils do not respect school rules on devices.

The spokeswoman said parents are now concerned about the online content their children may be exposed to at school.

“Guidelines about mobile devices in schools have been in place in EDC for years and these incidents continue to occur in educational settings,” she added.

“The reality is, we’re now forced to send our kids to schools where they will likely be exposed to horrendous content.”

Ann Davie, Chief Executive East Dunbartonshire Council, said: “The Committee agreed to approve the updated Procedure Manual for review at the next Local Negotiation Committee for Teachers (LNCT) meeting, supporting its implementation across all schools and allowing head teachers to apply the policy.

“The policy will be updated as per the agreed amendment to include that ‘accessing, viewing or sharing content which is of a violent or adult nature’ is prohibited.”

Ms Davie added that officers were also instructed to work with the LNCT and headteachers to assess the implementation of the policy.

They will be obliged to report back to the Education Committee within one year of the policy being implemented.