Mobile phone policy: what to publish on your school website
Your mobile phone policy explains how you keep phones out of the school day and what happens if a pupil breaks the policy.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Keep it up to date
There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
What's needed
Publish the mobile phone policy for pupils on the policies page on your website, stating that phones are prohibited, how this is put into practice and any sanctions, any sixth form arrangements, and that phones may be searched for.
What it must contain
5 parts- Says mobile phones are prohibitedShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Says how the policy is implemented and any sanctions for breaking itShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Says whether sixth form students may access their phone at certain times and locationsShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Says mobile phones are prohibited throughout the teaching day at boarding or residential schoolsShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Says mobile phones may be searched for under the behaviour policyShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
What the official sources say
Set out in 2 official sources:
Mobile phones in schools (statutory guidance)
Schools should publish details of the school’s policy on prohibiting the use of mobile phones.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Communicating the policy to pupils and parents
A school’s policy on prohibiting the use of mobile phones can be included within the school’s behaviour policy or be its own standalone document. The policy should be accessible, aligned with the school’s culture, consistent and straightforward to follow.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Implementing a policy on prohibiting the use of mobile phones
Show 4 more from this source
School leaders should ensure that all staff, pupils and parents are familiar with the policy, how it is implemented and any sanctions for breaching it.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Communicating the policy to pupils and parents
Schools should consider whether students in the sixth form should be permitted access to their mobile phone at certain and limited times and locations, reflecting this period of education as one of increased independence and responsibility, without compromising the school’s policy on the use of mobile phones for other pupils.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Prohibiting the use of mobile phones in school
Boarding schools and residential schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the teaching day. They should develop appropriate policies regarding the use of mobile phones during the rest of their pupils’ time at school, which safeguards and promotes the welfare of the children in their care in accordance with the boarding schools: national minimum standards and residential special schools: national minimum standards .
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Prohibiting the use of mobile phones in school
Headteachers can and should identify mobile phones and similar devices as something that may be searched for in their school behaviour policy.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Searching pupils
Communicating your policy for prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools to parents
Maintained schools, academies, non-maintained special schools, and independent schools should publish details of the school’s policy on prohibiting the use of mobile phones, either within the existing behaviour policy (which, for maintained schools, other than hospital schools and pupil referral units, must be published on the school website or, if the school has no website, another website parents can access) [footnote 5] . or as its own standalone document.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Methods of communication with parents
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish a mobile phone policy?
For academies and maintained schools, it's recommended in official guidance, but isn't a legal requirement in itself.
What does a school mobile phone policy need to include?
Says mobile phones are prohibited; Says how the policy is implemented and any sanctions for breaking it; Says whether sixth form students may access their phone at certain times and locations; Says mobile phones are prohibited throughout the teaching day at boarding or residential schools; Says mobile phones may be searched for under the behaviour policy.
When do we need to update our mobile phone policy?
Keep it up to date. There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
Where does the requirement for the mobile phone policy come from?
It is set out in Mobile phones in schools (statutory guidance) and Communicating your policy for prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools to parents.
Recent changes to the official guidance
Updates to the official sources that affect this requirement, newest first.
28 June 2026 · Mobile phones in schools (statutory guidance)
This guidance on 'Mobile phones in schools' became statutory on 29 June 2026. Schools should begin following it from 1 September 2026.
19 January 2026 · Mobile phones in schools (statutory guidance)
We have updated the guidance on 'Mobile phones in schools', replaced the 'Mobile phones in schools: toolkit for schools' with 'Communicating your policy for prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools to parents' and added additional case studies.
19 February 2024 · Mobile phones in schools (statutory guidance)
The DfE published its guidance on mobile phones in schools.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4