A free mobile phone policy template for UK schools

Below is a plain, editable mobile phone policy a UK school can copy and adapt. Built around the DfE’s guidance, which from 29 June 2026 schools in England must have regard to. Free. No email gate. Written to be read by parents as well as staff. Replace the bracketed parts. Delete anything that doesn’t fit your setting.

A starting point, not legal advice. Your governing body or trust should sign off the final version. It should sit alongside your behaviour and safeguarding policies.

How to use it

Keep it to two pages. Parents read short policies and ignore long ones. Decide your method first (the common ones are below). Fill in the template around it. Send it home before the start of term, not in week three.

Note on wearables: smartwatches that can call, message or browse are covered by this policy. Clause 2 includes them so you do not need a separate device.

Adapting it by setting

Primary schools. Off and away in a bag, or hand-in at registration, usually fits best. A phone is rarely needed for a short, supervised journey, so a full no-phones-on-site rule is common and easy to hold. Keep the journey line in clause 3 if some children walk home alone.

Secondary schools. Locker handover or a lockable pouch scales better across a large school, and lockers are the most common 2026 model. Pick the method first, then fill the template around it.

Sixth form. Use clause 4 to set limited access at named times and places, reflecting their age.

Academy trusts. A trust can adopt one policy across all its schools and leave the method in clause 3 for each school to choose. Governance sign-off then sits with the trust board rather than a single governing body.

The template

[School name] mobile phone policy

1. Purpose. This policy sets out how [School name] manages mobile phones and similar personal devices during the school day. It reflects Department for Education guidance that schools should be mobile-phone-free environments by default. Our aim is a calm school day, focused lessons, and unhurried, screen-free social time.

2. Scope. This policy applies to all pupils, throughout the school day, including lessons, break and lunch, from [arrival time] to [home time]. It applies to mobile phones, smartwatches with messaging or internet, and any device that can be used to call, message or browse.

3. The rule. Pupils may bring a phone to and from school for the journey. During the school day, phones must be [choose one and delete the others: switched off and kept in bags at all times / handed in to the form tutor at registration and collected at the end of the day / stored in the pupil’s locker and not accessed / sealed in a [pouch brand] pouch at arrival and opened at home time].

4. Sixth form. [If applicable] Sixth-form students may use phones in [named area] at [named times], reflecting their increased independence. This remains at staff discretion.

4a. Staff phones. Staff model the policy. Personal phones are not used in front of pupils during lessons or supervision, except for an agreed work purpose.

5. Exceptions. Where a pupil needs a device for a medical reason, a special educational need, or a specific agreed purpose, parents should contact [role/name] to put a written arrangement in place. Agreed exceptions are recorded and reviewed.

6. If the rule is not followed. A phone seen or heard during the day will be [stated consequence, for example: held securely by staff and returned at the end of the day]. Repeated incidents follow the school’s behaviour policy. Staff will not read the contents of a pupil’s phone except in line with the school’s safeguarding and searching policies.

7. Contacting your child during the day. Please contact the school office on [number]. The office will pass on urgent messages. Pupils needing to contact home during the day should ask at the office.

8. Online safety. Keeping phones away during the day supports, but does not replace, our online safety teaching. [Reference your online safety or PSHE curriculum.]

9. Review. This policy was approved by [governing body/trust] on [date] and will be reviewed by [date].

How this sits with your acceptable use policy

This is a phone policy, not an online safety curriculum. It sits alongside, and does not replace, your wider acceptable use policy and your online safety and PSHE teaching. Clause 8 is the hook to reference both.

A short note to send with it

Parents respond better when they understand the why, briefly. A line like: “From this term, phones are off and away during the school day. Your child can still bring a phone for the journey. If you need to reach them, please call the office. Thank you for backing this. It works best when home and school are saying the same thing.”

If your school is also fielding the “what phone” question

Plenty of parents, once they know phones are away all day, decide the journey only needs a basic handset. If families ask you what to get, point them at our ranked list of simple phones and the ninety-second picker. The wider school-side guidance, including a note for senior leaders and an assembly outline, is on our page for teachers and carers.

Common questions

Does the guidance require a specific method? No. It sets the expectation that schools are mobile-phone-free by default during the day. The method (off-and-away, hand-in, lockers or pouches) is for each school to choose.

Can pupils still bring a phone to school? Yes, unless your school decides otherwise. The common approach is that a phone may be carried for the journey but not used or seen during the day.

Where can I read the official guidance? Search for “Mobile phones in schools” on GOV.UK for the DfE guidance, and the House of Commons Library briefing of the same name for a policy summary.

Is the policy different for a primary school? The structure is the same. Primary schools tend to pick off and away or a full no-phones-on-site rule, since a phone is rarely needed for a short supervised journey. Keep the journey line in clause 3 if some children walk home alone. Secondaries more often use lockers or pouches.

Do we need a separate staff phone policy? A short clause is usually enough. Staff model the rule, so personal phones are not used in front of pupils during lessons or supervision except for an agreed work purpose. Add clause 4a above.

Can an academy trust adopt one policy across all its schools? Yes. A trust can run one policy and leave the method open per school, with sign-off at trust board level.

Does the policy cover smartwatches? Yes. Clause 2 already covers smartwatches with messaging or internet, and any device that can call, message or browse.

How does this fit Ofsted? Ofsted has looked at how a school’s mobile phone policy works in practice since September 2024, so the thing that matters is a clear policy that staff apply consistently, not the choice of method.

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This template is offered free for any UK school to adapt. It’s based on Department for Education guidance (GOV.UK) and isn’t a substitute for your own governance sign-off.