Should there be a ban on all mobile phones in the classroom?

AS A learning mentor in secondary education for more than ten years, I think the solution to mobile phones in class is simple. They can be a useful learning tool, but are also a distraction and can fuel bullying. Parents are often reluctant to accept that their children can live without them because of safety concerns. The answer could be to allow phones in schools for use during breaks and lunchtime, but they have to be handed to the teacher at the start of each lesson. This is already accepted practice for exams. The phones could be accessed if required for educational reasons during the lesson. This practice could also be a behaviour management sanction, with phones withheld to address bad or disruptive behaviour. Surely this would be a simple, cost-effective way of managing the negative impact of mobiles in class while accepting their use for educational purposes. All it would require is

for parents to agree to the best of both worlds for their children while in school.

M. VICKERS, Redcar, N. Yorks.

THE Government is finally waking up to the serious issue of children’s dependency on mobile phones. Parents have to take responsibility and work hard to protect their children. They should support school policies of confiscating phones if they are being used inappropriately. I have seen parents showing real fear of taking phones off their children as a punishment. To lose control of an 11-yearold does not augur well for the future. These are often the parents who complain the loudest that their children are bullied on social media. They also profess to be shocked at the crude language their children use on such websites. To counter the argument that children need to have mobiles so that they can keep in contact with their parents, why do they need a smartphone with internet access? A cheap £10 phone kept at the bottom of a school bag will do the job. Parents are under pressure to buy their children expensive phones to keep up with their peers, but this puts them at risk of robbery.

S. FELLA, Enfield, Middlesex.

IF THE Government were serious about banning pupils from using smartphones in school, it would start with the Commons. MPs set a bad example by using phones during debates. They should be banned from workplaces as they are detrimental to productivity. I worked in the NHS and other members of staff spent more time texting and emailing than working.

G. MARSH, Stockport, Cheshire.