From September 2027, the school day in London is set to become entirely phone-free. Pupils will not be able to use their mobile phones at any point during the day — not in lessons, not at break, and not over lunch.
The government has announced that schools will be expected to make sure children cannot get at their phones at all while they are on the premises. It is a clear step beyond the arrangements many schools use today, where pupils are allowed to bring a phone in as long as it stays switched off and out of sight in a bag or pocket.
Under the new rules, that will no longer be enough. Keeping a phone hidden away will not count as keeping it out of reach.
What will change in September 2027
The stricter approach is due to come into force from September 2027, at the start of the new academic year, and it will apply to schools across England — including every school in all 32 London boroughs and the City of London.
Schools will have a choice about how they enforce the restrictions. Some are expected to hand out lockable pouches that pupils seal their phones into on arrival. Others may ask children to hand their devices in at the start of the day, store them in secure lockers, or simply leave them at home.
There will be exceptions for pupils who need a mobile device for medical reasons, including children who use a phone to monitor or manage a health condition. And children who rely on their phones to contact a parent before or after school may still be allowed to bring one onto school premises, depending on their school’s own policy — they just will not be able to use it during the school day.
Why the government is doing it
The government says the aim is to cut distractions, sharpen concentration and get children talking to each other again during the school day. Education Secretary Lucy Powell put it plainly: “school is for learning and friendship, not scrolling.”
The move builds on guidance introduced in June 2026, which requires schools to keep the school day mobile-free. The new rules go further by spelling out that pupils must not be able to access their phones at all — during lessons, breaks or lunchtime — rather than simply keeping them out of sight.
Ministers believe that taking phones out of the school day altogether could create a more focused learning environment, and the announcement gives schools the best part of a year to review their existing policies and decide how to put the restrictions into practice.
Some schools have already gone further
A handful of schools elsewhere in England have already introduced tougher measures of their own. Alsager School in Cheshire asks pupils to secure their phones in pouches, and staff there have reported more social interaction between children during breaks. Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester has invested in phone pouches and metal detectors as part of its approach.
For London families, the change will be most keenly felt by secondary school pupils who travel independently — on buses, the Underground and trains across the capital — and who are used to having a phone in their pocket for the journey. Parents who need to reach their children during school hours will instead have to go through the school office.
Schools across London will now spend the coming months working out the practical details, and parents and pupils are being advised to check directly with their own school about what will change ahead of the September 2027 term.
London’s schools have been under close scrutiny this autumn. Bexley’s Beths Grammar School earned top marks in a new Ofsted report published this week, while new rankings have laid out the best and worst Ofsted ratings for schools and nurseries across south east London. And Seven Kings School in Ilford was recently named the most in-demand state secondary in the country — a reminder of just how competitive the capital’s classrooms have become.
