Parents could give children tracking devices instead of smartphones, Tory MP says

could give their children tracking devices to monitor their whereabouts instead of smartphones, has suggested. Laura Trott, Shadow Secretary, warned the consequences of not acting to ban smartphones from schools for under-16s are "very grave".

She has championed the Tories' calls for a bar on the devices on school premises, urging concerned parents to give their kids an Apple AirTag or a "dumb" phone to guard against the dangers and disruptions instead. The mother of three also said a school's ability to uphold a potential ban would be linked to inspection watchdog Ofsted's rating if it were to become law.

Ms Trott, who also called the pressures from her own phone "insane" and "stressful", warned the impact of the technology in the classroom "is an absolute crisis" and declared she is "on a mission to get this sorted".

Speaking to the Express, she said: We know the damage that smartphones are doing in classrooms up and down the country. Only 11% of schools have a full smart phone ban in place, in secondary school. And the Department for Education's own evidence showed that half of GCSE classes are being disrupted every single day. This is an absolute crisis. We need to fix it and the consequences of not acting are very grave."

She added: "I really want them [the Government] to see sense on this and accept a ban on smartphones in schools for under 16s because we know the difference it will make to children up and down the country and I passionately believe that I will keep going until we see some changes."

Ms Trott continued: "I understand parents need to understand where their children are. "There are lots of ways of doing that - AirTags, dumb phones - there's lots of other ways of doing this but a smartphone is so, so, so damaging.

"The whole point about what we're trying to do is make sure the smartphones are not in schools at all during the day. That includes break times, lunch time or between lessons. How teachers implement that - so whether head teachers choose to have a phone pouch or whether in some cases they decide not to let any smartphones on site whatsoever - will be up to them. It is really important that they have that flexibility because we know that is something the head teachers are asking for. "

The Tory MP for Sevenoaks in Kent, who has an eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old twin boys, said her plans to give her children smartphones at 16 will likely "come across some resistance".

But she hopes that by the time they get older, "the social norm has changed".

The senior Tory, 40, said: "I am acutely aware of the dangers that are there for young people. Now, my children are quite little at the moment.

"They're eight and six but I have been extremely clear with them that they are getting a smartphone when they are 16 and not any earlier. I think that's going to come across some resistance but what I'm hoping is by the time my children get older, that the social norm has changed, that it is not a given that you give your child a smartphone when they go to secondary school, that parents do wait that little bit longer and part of that is saying they're not going to be allowed it in schools to reduce that social pressure that so many parents are under.

"I totally get it's really, really tough but if we can shift that norm so that parents don't give children a smartphone until they're that bit older, it will make such a difference to protecting childhood, protecting young people's spaces, protecting them in their academic attainment and making sure they're not exposed to the dangerous things you can be exposed to on smartphones."

The Conservatives are demanding the ban in schools after admitting non-statutory guidance issued under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not work.

Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector of Ofsted, has said smartphones should be banned in schools in England. The Netflix drama Adolescence, which examines so-called incel (involuntary celibate) culture, has fuelled a debate about smartphones in schools in recent weeks.

But the Government has so far resisted calls to ban phones in schools.

Ms Trott said: "Young people always say 'I just wish these things [smartphones] would go away because it's so stressful'. As an adult I find it really stressful. The number of WhatsApps I have that I feel like I'm constantly having to respond to is insane. We just need to be apple to manage this a little more for young people and introduce them to it a bit later, you reduce the pressure. The phone ban is the start of a societal shift that I think we need to have where it's just not normal for children to go on social media to have phones. Once you have that, everything becomes a little easier...

"Young people know how bad this is. They understand. It's adults that need to understand how bad this is. Parents are crying out for the government and politicians to do something.

"So many people just want this problem sorted out. So what I said about when my children go to secondary school, I hope that's sorted, that's the aspiration of parents up and down the country. They just want somebody to say 'no' so they don't feel like they have to give their child a phone when they're 11 because they won't be left out."

Earlier this year, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch questioned why the Government opposed a Tory amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require schools to ban the use of phones.

In response, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the proposal as "completely unnecessary" as he claimed "almost every school" already bans phones.

A survey of more than 15,000 schools in England by the Children's Commissioner suggests that the vast majority already have policies in place that restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that she had tasked officials with exploring how to "more effectively monitor" what is happening in schools in England around the use of smartphones.

In a speech to school and college leaders in Liverpool in March, Ms Phillipson said: "The Government's position is clear, you have our full backing in ridding our classrooms of the disruption of phones."

A Government source added: "Phones are distracting, disruptive and have absolutely no place in classrooms.

"The Children's Commissioner's comprehensive evidence shows our approach of backing headteachers to implement bans in their schools is working, the Tories have been chasing headlines with no care for what's happening on the ground in schools.

"By ramping up monitoring we will ensure every school, and every classroom, is phone free, delivering on our Plan for Change to give our children the best education."