Mobile Phones System - September 2026

Recent neurological and sociological research has become increasingly clear: the developing adolescent brain is uniquely vulnerable to the addictive design of smartphone interfaces.  Minimising the potential for distraction that they cause is important to providing a high-quality education to your children.  However, our concerns extend beyond mere distraction. 

The correlation between high smartphone usage and increased anxiety, sleep deprivation, and social fragmentation is stark. The risks to wellbeing increase with usage.  Smartphones have also significantly increased the ease with which young people can access inappropriate, graphic, or dangerous content. Often, this occurs despite parental controls, with algorithms pushing provocative material to young users.  Ensuring that students are not accessing smartphones during the day helps minimise use and, hence, risks to wellbeing. 

Although our classrooms and playgrounds are already phone-free zones, we know that a significant minority of students find ways to use their phones during the school day and we are increasingly concerned by the insidious reach of the digital world into the daily lives of students. Even when a smartphone is out of sight, the performative pressure of social media and the anxiety of digital exclusion can follow a young person throughout their day. By prohibiting these devices entirely, we are protecting the school day as a space for genuine, face-to-face interaction. We believe children should be allowed to be children, free from the pressures of a managing online identities and targeted advertising amongst other things besides.

Yes, almost certainly!  But to a far lesser extent.  Smartphones and ‘non-smartphones’ are fundamentally different.  Aspects of the function of smartphones such as instantly communicating in huge groups without adult oversight, photography, video and sound recording, access to social media and other areas of the internet, the receipt of notifications from multiple apps are not possible. 

The potential for distraction from non-smartphones, and for safeguarding concerns to arise, is far, far smaller.  We also know this to be the case given that many of our staff have taught long enough to have seen schools without phones, then when students had simple phones and then with almost all students bringing smartphones to school.  Our safeguarding and pastoral teams deal with significant issues related to smartphone use every single school day (and evidence from colleagues in other schools suggests exactly the same).

There was a point where smoking was a ‘fact of life’ for a great many people.  Indeed, doctors used to advertise and, in some cases, prescribe cigarette smoking to patients.  As the evidence about the harms of smoking became clear, so the policies around tobacco changed.  Of course, this also came along with extensive public health education. In the same way, now that we have evidence from our own community and beyond regarding issues presented by smartphones, we are changing our policy to account for this.

We already carry out extensive educational work with young people regarding smartphone use and this now needs to encompass a huge range of topics from addictive social media use, sleep hygiene, pornography, algorithmic advertising and many more issues besides.  We will continue to do this through our LIFE (PSHE) curriculum and supplement this with assemblies and tutor time activities. 

Some years ago, smartphones were allowed to be used in this school during break and lunch times.  This caused significant issues so we changed the policy.  The students of this school were described as conducting themselves ‘exceptionally well’ by Ofsted in 2025.  We believe that removing smartphone use from break times was a part of this. Likewise, we believe that gradually phasing out smartphones will help ensure a safer and better learning environment for our students.

If they have them, absolutely.  Whilst we will always assist a child in a difficult situation, be it smartphone related or otherwise, ultimately the primary responsibility for ensuring that smartphones are used responsibly must lie with parents/carers (and, assuming parents/carers are paying the bills, this is where the legal responsibility for the contents of smartphones lies too).  This is particularly the case when the phone is being used in the home or off school site.

We know that some parents/carers have taken great steps to ensure that their child’s phone use is as safe and sensible as possible.  However, in our experience, there are a great many children for whom this is not the case.  Additionally, even with some safeguards in place, children can still be exposed to concerning content.  By making clear that we have concerns regarding smartphone use on school site, we hope that we can encourage all parents/carers to take steps to safeguard their children’s use of technology, social media and all that that can entail, as best as possible.

You can find out more about how to keep your child safe on a smartphone via the NSPCC here.

Any policy, like a law in wider society, is not there because we think everybody needs it to be: usually, policies are in place so that we can be clear with everyone regarding expectations and ensure that we are treating everyone as fairly as possible and that there is equity in how rules are applied. This is in line with all aspects of our behavioural policies: we did not ban vapes because we thought every student was trying to vape on site – we did it to make sure that we could deal appropriately with the minority that chose to do so and protect the majority from, for example, having to enter a toilet block with older students vaping. 

In the same way, many students, of course, are never distracted by their phones and avoid any harm from smartphone use.  Enough, however, do not fall into that category.  This causes significant issues which school staff must address to maintain a calm and orderly school and ensure students’ wellbeing.  We cannot always predict which students will experience harm or engage in concerning behaviour through their smartphone (and nor can parents/carers).  A general policy means we can enforce expectations clearly and ensure that students’ vulnerable to harm/distraction are protected as best as possible when in our care.

Of course, if your child has a smartphone, we would absolutely encourage you to apply controls to ensure that they are not exposed to undue harm.  You can find out more about how to do this via the NSPCC here.

We already have slightly different rules in place for students as they progress through the school (for instance, discreet make-up is allowed from Year 10 onwards and our 6^th Form do not wear a uniform).  This reflects what we feel is age-appropriate for students as they approach early adulthood.  In the case of phones, we must also make sure that the change is manageable. 

It is also worth considering that, perhaps, if removing smartphones from Year 7 students has a positive effect on their learning and safety, the policy is actually unfair to the older students.

However, we have opted to take a phased approach towards making the lower school (Year 7-11) as smartphone free as possible.  We are double the size of the average secondary school and must balance a range of priorities here.  This is a pragmatic decision to ensure that implementing the policy is manageable.

We do issue serious sanctions.  Smartphones and their misuse in school have been a factor in a number of on-site exclusions and suspensions from school.  But each case like this takes an awful lot of staff time and energy which would be better spent elsewhere.  Whilst we will continue to enforce expectations, we also believe it important to move towards removing the issue entirely from the lower school for the betterment of the school community.

Additionally, we will be adjusting our mobile phone ladder to make it very clear for all parents/carers and students that we need all phones to be away from when children enter the school to when they leave.

We have explored these options but they are prohibitively expensive.  It would cost tens of thousands of pounds to install enough storage facilities in a school of our scale.  It would also mean that we would have to restructure our school day to ensure a means of returning phones at the end of the day, not to mention having to store many, many thousands of pounds worth of phones on school site which is not without risk.

Arbor can be accessed just as easily via computers or tablets.  For students, Arbor is for checking their homework and keeping an eye on their rewards/behaviour points which they can exchange in the Swap Shop when they have accumulated enough. None of this needs to be done during the school day. 

We are also not saying that students should not have smartphones in general – this is a parental decision.  We are saying that the issues that smartphones cause schools through being present in the school day outweigh the benefits of students being allowed them. A student using a smartphone after school to go through their homework would be an appropriate, and beneficial use of the technology.

If your child does not have access to a suitable electronic learning device at home, please contact the school.  In some cases, we are able to provide appropriate devices for young people who need them.

Through using the school’s Arbor app, you will see register information for your child in real time.  This means you can see when your child has been registered at school in the morning and through their lessons in the day.  If you wish to track your child’s whereabouts on the way to / from school, you can find multiple options that do not require a smartphone by searching online.

It is also worth noting that young people carrying smartphones are, in some ways, less safe.  Some of the more unpleasant safety issues we have dealt with include students being robbed, specifically for their smartphones, on their way to or from school.  According to government data, street robberies increased 150% in 2024.  Police intelligence suggests this is largely due to demand for second-hand smartphones and their high resale value.

If you decide to do this, please be prepared for you and your child to accept the consequences of doing so if they are found with a smartphone in their possession.  As with any prohibited item in all schools, it is very possible that some items may come onto site either accidentally or deliberately and never be seen nor heard.  But it is likely that the overwhelming majority of parents, carers and students will make every effort to comply with the policy as they do with all other school rules.  We do not intend to search children for smartphones unless we have reasonable justification for doing so, which is the case with any prohibited item.

We would remind parents/carers that Ofsted described Cheam High School as one where students conduct themselves ‘exceptionally well’ (Ofsted, 2025).  This does not happen by accident.  It happens because we make the best decisions we can for our students’ wellbeing and ensure that our expectations are appropriately enforced with all students.  It also happens because we work collaboratively with our parents/carers to create a cohesive, positive school culture.

We very much appreciate that this may be frustrating for some of you and that there may be an expense implication. However, much like when we banned smartphones from use in school during break and lunchtimes some years ago, this is not a decision that has been taken lightly and it very much has the education and wellbeing of your children at its heart. 

We know that many students will still have smartphones which they will use at home, when under the supervision of parents/carers.  You may, of course, choose to provide them with another phone to bring with them to school.  Generally, basic phones without internet connectivity and cameras retail between £13-£20. 

We are giving notice of this change around 3 months ahead of your child’s starting date which we hope is ample time for you to make alternative arrangements if appropriate. 

Emergencies, of course, happened long before the existence of smartphones (or, indeed, phones in general).  Mobile phones are a fantastic piece of technology but we would always encourage you to call the school first and in any serious situation we will always ensure that a staff member is able to locate your child and assist you appropriately.

We do see that for some children an ‘emergency’ which requires phoning a parent immediately from school site is, for example, having a falling out with peers or being set a detention that they don’t want to complete.  In almost all cases, this direct contact is not helpful – allowing school staff to assist your child is the best way of helping them develop resilience and strategies to manage situations without you. When your child finishes Year 11, they will be closer to being a 20-year-old adult than a 10-year-old child – it is very important for them that they prepare for this and for their futures by building their independence and ability to work through situations which may challenge them. 

Often, when this kind of contact occurs (usually from a toilet cubicle) parents/carers are presented with a distorted version of events from a dysregulated teenager which is also difficult for you to manage.  Please leave the matter with school staff who will contact you when the full facts of a matter are established as best as possible and, as always, contact staff through appropriate channels if you have any questions or concerns.

Yes.  As stated in our original correspondence, we know that some students depend on having a smartphone on them for their health (for example, diabetic children who use apps to monitor their insulin levels).   We absolutely support smartphones being used in school in this manner.  All you need to do is provide evidence to the medical team at the School Office of what the issue is and consideration will be granted in any deserving case. 

Similarly, there may be an exceptional situation where a child has a particularly complex commute and requires access to transport timetables, which may be given consideration.  This will work in the same way as other special considerations (e.g. allowing a child to wear special trainers instead of school shoes for a health reason) – the child will be given a smartphone permission card which they can show to staff if necessary. Regardless, the phone should remain off and in their bag during the school day.

There may also be very rare situations where temporary use is granted for certain eventualities at the discretion of school leadership.

Please email office@cheam.sutton.sch.uk and the Office Team will ensure that your query is passed to an appropriate member of staff.