Helen Hayes

I thank the Minister for his statement, and welcome the announcement of strengthened guidance on mobile phones in schools. It constitutes agreement with the Select Committee, which called for a policy whereby children have no access to their phones during the school day rather than a “not seen or heard” policy. The Committee also said that schools should be given the resources, where needed, to implement such a policy in full. For secondary schools, the cost of buying pouches can be as much as £20,000. How will the Government ensure that schools have the resources to implement the policy effectively? The Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry on AI and edtech. We have received a vast amount of evidence about the complexity of this landscape and the challenges that schools face in respect of procurement and the deployment of technology, and understanding the pedagogical basis that underpins it. Standards should be set, and I welcome the Government’s consultation, but they should be set in relation to a clear sense of the educational purpose of the technology, a deep understanding of pedagogy, and an understanding of the technology itself. What work has been undertaken on those aspects to underpin the Government’s thinking in this area?