Is it statutory? Yes, since 29 June 2026
Sources online disagree about this, so here is what the official documents say.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. Section 36 of the Act inserts a new section 550C into the Education Act 1996. It says the “appropriate person” for a school in England must have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State about pupils having and using mobile phones and other personal interactive communication devices during school hours and on school premises.
Section 78(2) of the Act brought section 36 into force two months after Royal Assent. legislation.gov.uk confirms that section 36 has been in force since 29 June 2026.
The DfE’s GOV.UK page says the same. The revised guidance was published in January 2026, it “became statutory on 29 June 2026”, and “schools should begin following it from 1 September 2026”.
The guidance is statutory because of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, not because of KCSIE. KCSIE 2026 does now include a short section on mobile phone policy (paragraph 170). It repeats that schools should be mobile phone-free by default and points to the phones guidance.
Who has to have regard to it
Section 550C names the “appropriate person”:
- the head teacher of a community, foundation or voluntary school, a community or foundation special school, a maintained nursery school, a pupil referral unit or a non-maintained special school
- the proprietor of any other school, which for an academy or free school means the academy trust
GOV.UK says the guidance applies to all maintained schools, academies, free schools, non-maintained special schools and independent schools.
It does not apply to 16 to 19 academies, 16 to 19 free schools, further education or sixth-form colleges, or other standalone post-16 providers. GOV.UK says they may still find it useful when writing their own policies.
What the guidance expects
The core expectation is short: “All schools should be mobile phone-free environments by default; anything other than this should be by exception only.”
In practice, schools should:
- have a mobile phone policy, either within the behaviour policy or as a separate document, that prohibits the use of phones throughout the school day, including lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime
- make sure pupils don’t have access to their phones during the school day. How is up to the headteacher. The guidance gives lockers and handing phones to staff in the morning as examples.
- publish the policy, and make sure staff, pupils and parents know it and the sanctions for breaking it
- remind pupils of the policy at the start of each school year
- teach pupils about the risks of phone use and the benefits of a phone-free school
- direct parents who need to reach their child to the school office
A school’s bring-your-own-device scheme for laptops or tablets should not include mobile phones.
Sixth form, boarding and trips
Sixth form. Schools should consider letting sixth-form students use their phones at certain limited times and places, reflecting their greater independence. Use should not be in front of younger pupils, for example by limiting it to a sixth-form common room. Sixth-formers stay subject to the behaviour policy.
Boarding and residential schools should prohibit phones throughout the teaching day and have their own policy for the rest of the time, including making sure boarders can contact their families in private.
Trips. Schools should decide how to manage phones on residential trips and trips outside the normal school day, and consider prohibiting or restricting them.
Smartwatches and other devices
The policy should cover phones and “other smart technology with similar functionality”, such as the ability to send or receive notifications or messages over a mobile network, or to record audio or video. Section 550C does not apply to devices the school itself provides for pupils to use.
Staff phones
All staff should enforce the policy consistently. Staff should not use their own phones for personal reasons in front of pupils during the school day. The guidance accepts there are times when a teacher may need a phone for work, for example to issue homework, record rewards and sanctions, or for multi-factor authentication.
Confiscation and searching
Schools can use sanctions in line with the DfE’s behaviour in schools guidance, including confiscation and detentions. The guidance says headteachers are backed to confiscate phones for as long as they consider proportionate, taking into account the pupil’s age, any SEND and their circumstances. Headteachers can also list phones in the school rules as items that may be searched for.
If a pupil refuses to hand over a phone. The legal power to confiscate property as a disciplinary penalty is section 91 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. The DfE’s Searching, screening and confiscation guidance (paragraphs 19 to 22) says staff should first ask why a pupil won’t cooperate, and may then sanction them under the behaviour policy. Reasonable force can be used to search only for the prohibited items listed in law, such as weapons, drugs or an item suspected of being used to commit an offence. It can’t be used to search for an item that is banned only by the school rules.
If misbehaviour with a phone suggests a pupil may be at risk of harm, staff should follow the child protection policy and speak to the DSL, as set out in Part one of KCSIE.
Exceptions
The guidance says schools must still meet their other legal duties:
- Disability. Under the Equality Act 2010, allowing a disabled pupil to use their phone may be a reasonable adjustment, and failing to allow it may breach the school’s duty.
- Medical conditions. If a pupil needs their phone to manage a medical condition, for example a continuous glucose monitor for diabetes that links to the phone, it would not be reasonable to stop them.
- Individual circumstances, such as young carers. Schools should build in flexibility, for example by allowing use for a set purpose at a set time and place, such as in a head of year’s office.
The guidance also says pupils should be able to get to their phone when they need to show a teacher something that has happened online. This matters most in residential settings.
Does Ofsted check it?
Yes, under attendance and behaviour. Ofsted’s school inspection toolkit for use from September 2026 (pages 37 and 38) says inspectors consider whether leaders:
- design policies that communicate high expectations to staff, pupils and parents, “including expectations related to mobile phones”
- review their policies, including for mobile phone use
- work with pupils and parents to communicate expectations about behaviour, including the use of mobile phones
Ofsted’s blog of 23 January 2026 explains what this means in practice. Inspectors will discuss the school’s phone policy with leaders and how it is communicated to parents and pupils, check whether staff and pupils understand it, and look at how consistently it is followed. Where a school doesn’t follow the guidance, inspectors will look at whether phones are causing disruption, bullying, or harm to pupils’ concentration, mental health or sense of belonging. Evidence of that may mean the “expected standard” for attendance and behaviour is not met. We checked the toolkit and blog on 20 October 2026.