Smartphones are powerful personal pocket computers – should schools ban them?

By Victoria Goodyear, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy in Sport, Physical Activity and Health, University of Birmingham
Kathleen Armour, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), University of Birmingham
Miranda Pallan, Reader in Public Health & Epidemiology, University of Birmingham

When the UK took its first steps out of national lockdown in April and schools reopened, education secretary Gavin Williamson announced the implementation of the behaviour hubs programme. And as part of this push to develop a school culture “where good behaviour is the norm”, he pushed for banning smartphones in schools.

Williamson claims that phones distract from healthy exercise and, as he put it, good old-fashioned play. And he says they…

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