Council / SIC decides against banning mobile phones in schools
MOBILE phones have not been banned in Shetland’s schools – but primary pupils have been told not to take phones to school.
Shetland Islands Council had been considering whether to ban mobile phones in schools across the isles, following a petition started by concerned parents in late 2024.
However new guidance on using phones responsibly in education settings was approved by the SIC’s local negotiating committee for teaching staff in November 2025.
Pupils are instead being reminded of “responsible use” when in school buildings.
It had been thought that the decision would be made by councillors at the education and families committee, but instead elected members are set just to be briefed on the outcome.
While an outright ban has not been introduced, the SIC has said that primary school pupils “should not take phones to school”.
If a primary school pupil has a “legitimate need” to have a phone, the headteacher of the school will “establish a process for handing the phone in at the start of the school day and returning it at the end of the school day”.
Secondary pupils can take mobile phones to school, but the SIC said there were “controls on how and when” they could be used – and “consequences” for breaching those controls.
Mobile phones should be switched off and out of sight in classrooms, and also when moving between classrooms, the new guidance states.
“Personal earphones or headsets linked to mobile phones must not be used or worn in the classroom or in the corridors when moving between classes,” the SIC said.
“The use of phones is prohibited at all times in PE changing areas and toilet areas across the school.”
Phones can be used “responsibly” during break and lunchtimes, but “device recording functions” such as camera, video and voice notes are not allowed to be used.
Teachers can give permission to use phones in class for “learning and engagement purposes”, with staff also given permission to alter the controls based on the health needs of individual pupils.
One concern raised previously about a potential mobile phone ban in schools was about parents needing to contact their children in an emergency.
The SIC said that pupils who require to make urgent contact with someone at home should notify an adult in the school and arrangements will be made to make contact with parents/carers.
And parents who need to make urgent contact with their child are advised to phone the school office.
The consequences for breaching the controls on phones are an initial warning to put them away, and then the phone will be confiscated if this is not obeyed.
Pupils who persistently misuse phones in school “will be referred to a member of school management for consideration”.
Any phones confiscated will be made available for collection at the end of the day.
In November 2024, a group of concerned parents called for mobile phones to be banned during the school day at the Anderson High School in Lerwick.
That led to a wider review of the use of phones in schools across all of Shetland’s schools, undertaken by the SIC and the education department.
In the petition, parents said their children were accessing apps – such as TikTok and Snapchat – that they are banned from seeing at home, while at school.
It comes amid increasing concern about social media use by youngsters generally, with Australia approving a ban on children under 16 from accessing the services in a landmark ruling.
The petition said mobile phones distract pupils from school, are a detriment to mental health and promote cyberbullying.
They have also said children can access pornography through them, which they were often “exposed” to through social media and messaging apps.
And they wrote that the phones “infringe on a child’s privacy”, with children allowed to video and photograph each other at school without consent at school.
However pupils at the AHS said they felt a ban on mobile phones would be “excessive” and a “punishment” for them, its student council claimed last year.
The AHS’ student representative council said it would not support an outright ban on phones in the school, adding that some pupils “benefit from time on their phones” at break and lunchtimes.
“Some pupils find social times challenging – the phone is a support,” the student council said.
But almost three-quarters of parents who responded to a SIC survey late last year said they felt mobile phones were negatively affecting their children’s mental health at school.
Of the 500 parents who responded, 265 said they would like to see mobile phones completely banned during the day – including at break times.
The education and families committee will be told about the progress at its meeting on Monday.
The SIC also said that a document on the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in education was in its final draft, and would act as guidance for staff on using AI in schools.
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