School pupils ready to lock phones away in pouches

Mobile phones. Love them or loathe them, there is no denying they are a central part of everyday life in 2026. But studies are increasingly documenting the harm they cause our mental health, including for children. Research by online safety regulator Ofcom has found nine in 10 own a mobile phone by their 11th birthday. The government has promised to bring in a legal ban on smartphones in schools in England, but some teachers are already one step ahead, including at a secondary school in Essex.

It has just gone 08:30 and pupils at St Martin's School in Brentwood are getting ready for their first lessons of the day.

Many of them are carrying mobile phones, but a long-standing school policy means they should be out of sight until home time.

The leadership team acknowledges there are some parts of the school day they cannot thoroughly police, so they are dialling the rules up a notch.

From 1 June, most St Martin's pupils will have to put their mobile phones and smartwatches in a magnetically locked pouch as they arrive on site. It will be unlocked as they leave.

Children who need access to their phones during the day for medical reasons, like to control insulin pumps, will instead use Velcro-sealed pouches.

Deputy head teacher Georgina Tatman says the school has taken this approach because of "the growing national and international concern about the impact of mobile phones and social media".

"It's our next step to make sure we're protecting our young people as much as possible," she tells the BBC.

At first, the pouches will be used by students in Years 7 to 10.

From September, they will be rolled out for Year 11 too.

They are a one-off purchase costing £12 per pupil, and Tatman says the school has tried to support families who cannot afford them.

Students who choose not to buy a pouch will not be allowed to have their phones on the school grounds at all.

Tatman says the school consulted with parents in January, before the government announced its legal ban on smartphones in schools.

She says the support has been "fantastic" and that 95% of parents have bought a pouch.

Amelia, 12, is excited about their introduction and says she thinks the design is smart.

"I feel like it's going to keep everyone's phones safe and will stop people from getting distracted in lessons," she says.

Nikhil, also 12, agrees and thinks it sets a "good precedent".

"If you stop using [your phone] in school, you're going to start using it less at home," he says.

Mum Grainne, who has a daughter in Year 8 at the school, says she thinks it is a brilliant idea.

"I like to think that when she's in class her learning isn't being interrupted by people on their phones, and if I need to contact her I can call the school office," she says.

The school's new policy has attracted several comments from parents on social media, many agreeing with Grainne. However, one parent felt the pouches could be problematic.

St Martin's is not the first school in England or even Essex to take similar measures.

Passmores Academy in Harlow, which featured in the 2011 television series Educating Essex, introduced pouches last year. Its vice-principal told EssexLive the results had been positive.

The Stanway School in Colchester went one step further and took smartphones away from a group of pupils completely, both in and out of school, for 21 days.

The experiment, which was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary in 2024, resulted in a drop in anxiety and depression - according to head teacher John Player.

Helen Amass, commissioning editor at the Times Educational Supplement, says the impact of mobile phones on behaviour is the top priority for many of the teachers the publication speaks to.

"There is broad support across the sector for banning phones, but it's not simple," she tells BBC Essex.

"It's important not to position a phone ban as a simple, easy fix.

"The schools that have introduced [pouches] that we've spoken to have been very positive about them.

"They've said they think they've made a difference and been very effective."

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