{"id":240435,"date":"2026-01-19T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=240435"},"modified":"2026-01-22T16:05:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:05:04","slug":"the-school-that-confiscates-phones-for-six-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/the-school-that-confiscates-phones-for-six-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"The school that confiscates phones for six weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The abuse of headteachers over school phone bans is \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d, Bridget Phillipson told MPs last month.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The education secretary was responding to reports that one leader was \u201cspat and sworn at\u201d for implementing a ban.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That leader was David Smith, the head of The Fulham Boys School in west London, which enforces what is thought to be one of the strictest restrictions on phone use in the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained his thinking to Schools Week<\/em>, maintaining the ban is necessary, and calling on the  government to step up and back headteachers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fulham Boys School banned phones in September 2024. The ban is total \u2013 no smartphones on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey can’t lock them in pouches, they can’t have them in lockers. They’re just not allowed them,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a pupil is found with a phone, it is confiscated for six school weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that doesn\u2019t include school holidays,\u201d says Smith. \u201cI took a phone in June off a student and he didn’t get it back until October.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he believes a strong deterrent is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Not about behaviour’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If pupils get their phones back for holidays, he argues, there is little to stop them using them in the final days of term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school\u2019s previous policy allowed parents to collect confiscated phones, but Smith said this was \u201cnot fair\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better-off parents with more time on their hands could easily collect them, while for others \u201cthe phone was there for two weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hardline policy is not about behaviour or attainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
David Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is because there is a moral piece, from our perspective, that young people are damaged,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it could be irreversible if we don’t do something around smartphone use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith highlights dangers posed by social media and internet access, saying that to be a teenage boy today is \u201creally hard\u201d. Schools must \u201ceducate around\u201d sex and misogyny before they are exposed to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf [parents] want us to really do our job well and effectively, we need to get there first. We need to tell them why their bodies matter, their voice matters, their belief matters, before the world tells them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overstepping the mark?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some parents feel The Fulham Boys School is \u201coverstepping the mark\u201d, something that Smith rejects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools already deal with issues that affect children outside school hours, such as bereavement, sexting and bullying, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is our duty to care about every single aspect of a young person’s life while they are as part of our school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo [parents] want a headteacher that\u2019s fully bought into their child’s education and cares about them holistically? Or do they just want a babysitting provision where they hopefully get good results? They want the first, and in this school, they get the first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Parents can be aggressive\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most parents have responded positively to the ban. But some \u201cgenuinely believe\u201d that Smith is making their child’s life and their life significantly worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have shouted \u2026 \u201cthey’ve screamed. They\u2019ve refused to leave the premises, we’ve had to call the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve had complaints to Ofsted about the policy\u2026complaints to the police. Some parents can be aggressive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On one occasion \u2013 highlighted to the education secretary by Lib Dem MP and schools spokesperson Caroline Voaden in December <\/a>\u2013 a parent spat at Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was a one-off,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was in anger, he apologised…it was fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith said he feels \u201csympathy\u201d towards parents who feel the school has \u201ctaken a limb\u201d by confiscating phones, adding many are \u201cused to parenting through a device\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He absorbs the backlash. \u201cI just say \u2018blame me, this is my decision. It’s my school.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he admits it means he has developed a \u201creally thick skin\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Government must legislate\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Smith believes the government should mandate phone bans to take the pressure off  heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately, if the government just said [pupils] shouldn’t have [phones], then we wouldn’t have to deal with the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current non-statutory guidance says schools must have a phone policy \u201cthat prohibits the use of mobile phones\u2026throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a major survey by the children\u2019s commissioner last year found wide variation in how restrictions are imposed. Ninety per cent of secondary schools restrict use, but only 3.5 per cent have a total ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority (79 per cent) allow phones on site if kept out of sight, while 3.9 per cent allow phone use at breaktimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, heads remain divided on whether a government ban is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has repeatedly fended off calls for bans to be enshrined in law, despite entreaties from opposition MPs, and a failed bid by Josh MacAlister, then a backbencher and now children\u2019s minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government backs headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It pointed to the children’s commissioner survey, and to steps taken to protect children from harmful content through the Online Safety Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are striking the right balance: protecting children while ensuring they can safely benefit from the digital world, without risking isolation or cutting off access to vital services, especially to the most vulnerable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phillipson has insisted leaders \u201cdo have the powers\u201d to ban phones, with evidence showing they \u201care already [being] prohibited\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with schools told \u201cleft, right and centre what we should do\u201d on issues from uniform to the curriculum, Smith feels it is \u201cironic\u201d that phone rules are left to heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parental concerns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Parents\u2019 main concerns, says the Fulham head, are around \u201ctracking and safety\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ParentKind poll of about 2,500 parents last year echoes those concerns. It found 58 per cent would support banning smartphones for under-16s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most (82 per cent) agreed it was important to be able to contact their child, while 61 per cent valued being able to see their child\u2019s location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fulham Boys Schools allows pupils to have certain \u201cbrick\u201d phones, that can only be used to text or call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Smith believes parents \u201chave to let go\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen their child is 25 [will they still be] tracking their whereabouts? When they get married, when they have children? \u2026It\u2019s not healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He does not let his own daughter to have a smartphone, despite her secondary school allowing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI presume she’s at school. I presume she’s safe. I presume she’s well \u2013 maybe she’s not, but she’s safer without one, so I’ll take that risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith acknowledges phones \u201care helpful\u201d, but adds that \u201cat worst, I’m adding a layer of inconvenience to someone’s life in order to safeguard them and their future\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes in behaviour<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Smith says the ban is working. In its first three months, phones were confiscated from 40 boys \u2013 around 5 per cent of the school\u2019s pupils. A year on in the same period that total was six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the ban, Smith says there has been a drop in boys \u201cbeing unkind to one another online. They talk to you and they look at you in the eye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And incidents of child sexual exploitation, including grooming and sexting, reported to its safeguarding team have dropped 90 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months after the policy was introduced last year, some parents complained when they found phones would also be banned on the school\u2019s annual ski trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith offered a full refund for parents who wanted to withdraw their child, but none took it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the hotel, Smith says his pupils were \u201cplaying card games with staff and enjoying their evening\u201d while those from other schools were \u201csitting there on their phones\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day after Smith sat down with Schools Week<\/em>, he was to take another 125 boys skiing to Italy. They would again not be allowed phones, including for the 18-hour coach journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe boys and staff are just going to talk to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd when they get tired, they’re going to sleep\u2026And that is lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Head whose abuse from parents was highlighted by MPs speaks to Schools Week about his strict policy approach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314902,"featured_media":240449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[239,890],"post-theme":[2884],"class_list":["post-240435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-education-policy","tag-schools","post-theme-solutions"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t