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Mobile Phones
You may have seen the recently announced UK Government Consultation on Children’s use of social media and mobile phones and smartwatches. These measures reflect the growing national concern about their impact on young people’s wellbeing, focus and safety. At The Forest School we recognised that this can be a real source of concern for families.
Working in partnership
We are committed to supporting students’ wellbeing. We appreciate that digital technology plays an important role in everyday life, hence our Chromebook scheme, but phones can present challenges. The most effective support comes when schools and families work in partnership to create shared norms and reduce pressure on young people.
As a reminder, mobile phones and smartwatches must not be used during the school day. From Monday, 23rd February 2026 we will be tightening our policy:
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Mobile phones/smartwatches to be switched off and placed in school bags at the school gate.
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Mobile phones/smartwatches remain switched off in school bags until students exit the school gate.
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The school’s’ ‘See it. Use it. Lose it’ will now stretch to include no usage whilst on the school site, and no mobile phones or smartwatches in pockets.
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This is the warning: if mobile phones or smartwatches are seen or in pockets they will be confiscated and kept for 3 school weeks. This could mean losing the device during the holidays if the 3 weeks run into a school holiday period, subsequently lasting longer than 3 weeks.
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A second confiscation, the device will be confiscated and kept for 6 weeks i.e. a term.
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Sixth Form Policy allows students to use their mobile phone or smartwatch in the Sixth Form Common Room and Cafe only.
These changes are to ensure we adhere to changing legislation commencing from April 2026. We have chosen to tighten our policy and allow students the opportunity to respond appropriately in adhering to the changes. You will be aware of the media coverage requesting an outright ban on all smartphones and watches in schools. We are assessing our current policies in line with research to ascertain if we can meet the safeguarding requirement, support our students’ mental health and progress without an outright ban.
Outlined below are the reasons behind this policy, how it will work in practice and some suggestions to help parents navigate this change. This is not an exhaustive list. Please read this alongside the FAQs.
Why the change?
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Safeguarding
We now have ample evidence that children with unrestricted access to the internet and social media are often exposed to highly inappropriate content, cyberbullying and online predators. By limiting smartphone/watch use, we aim to create a safer environment where students can focus on their learning without these potential threats. As parents, this can be managed at home on a 1 to 1 basis. -
Mental Health
Evidence is rapidly growing that smartphone/watch and social media use leads to negative impacts upon children’s mental health and wellbeing, such as increased anxiety, depression and self harm. By reducing smartphone/watch usage further, we hope to foster a more positive and focused learning environment while reducing the pressures on young people associated with an online presence. -
Distraction
On average a teenager receives 237 notifications each day and the desire to constantly check a smartphone/watch can easily become compulsive. Studies consistently show that excessive smartphone/watch use has a negative impact upon academic performance.
The short film ‘A Stolen Childhood’ (12 mins) is an excellent summary of the impacts of smartphones on school children.
How will it work?
From 23rd February 2026, students must put their mobile phones/smart watches into their school bag as they enter The Forest School site. Any mobile phone or smartwatch will be classified as a ‘prohibited item’ and will be confiscated as outlined above.
Our PSHE (Personal Social Health and Economic) education programme contains lessons regarding the reasons for our mobile phone/smartwatch policy, the risks associated with social media use and how students can keep themselves safe online. We will evaluate the effectiveness of this new procedure annually.
What steps can I take as a parent?
We understand that this policy might require an adjustment for parents and we want to support families as much as we can with this transition. If you need to contact your child during the school day, you can do so via our school reception and student services. If you would like to be able to contact your child on their journey to and from school, or to check their whereabouts, you can still do so as our ban is only whilst on the school site. You may also wish to consider purchasing a non-smartphone; a basic brick phone, without access to internet, WhatsApp and social media, for their journey to and from school allowing your child a longer smartphone/watch rest. For location monitoring, parents are also able to attach trackers to these phones, such as AirTags or SmartTags but, it is worth reminding ourselves that previous generations didn’t track each other all the time.
We believe that this change will enable students to enjoy the multiple benefits of being completely mobile phone/smartwatch free for over seven hours per day, including encouraging much healthier, face to face interaction at school. We also hope that this change will help to collectively support parents who are concerned about the potentially very negative impacts of smartphones/watches on their children. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us using our communication chart and your child’s tutor initially.
Please click the button below to view our Smartphone Free FAQs:
Evidence Based Research Supporting Our Policy Change:
Online Safety Videos Helping Families Thrive in the Digital Age
Netflix documentary ‘Social Dilemma’
Channel 4 documentary ‘Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones’
The Anxious Generation book and research by Jonathan Haidt
Kids, Smartphone and Social Media – talk by Catherine Price: