Mobile phone exemptions for pupils with medical conditions

Motion Text

That this House recognises that for many children with type 1 diabetes and other medical conditions, mobile phones are essential medical devices rather than distractions, enabling them to monitor blood glucose levels, receive potentially life-saving alerts and, in some cases, manage insulin delivery; notes with concern that restrictions on mobile phones in schools could put pupils at risk if appropriate medical exemptions are not clearly established and consistently applied; welcomes the Government's recognition of the need for exemptions for medical and disability purposes; calls on the Department for Education to ensure that these exemptions are explicitly protected in statutory guidance, with no discretion for individual staff members to confiscate devices required for medical purposes; further calls for exemptions to be recorded in pupils' Individual Healthcare Plans, communicated to all relevant teaching and supply staff, and maintained when pupils change classes or schools; supports the introduction of a recognised means for pupils to demonstrate their medical exemption when challenged; and urges the Government to work with charities, including Breakthrough T1D, to ensure that no child's health or safety is compromised by restrictions on mobile phones in schools.