Government launches consultation on children’s social media use and bans phones in schools to protect young people’s wellbeing and ensure safer online experiences
- Restrictions on addictive features, a ban on social media access for children and better age checks among measures to be considered
- Ofsted inspectors tasked with checking mobile phone bans are being properly enforced in schools as stronger and clearer guidance given to headteachers
- Ministers to kickstart national conversation with parents on impact of technology on children’s wellbeing with nationwide events to hear views
A consultation will identify the next steps in the government’s plan to boost children’s wellbeing online, ensuring they have a healthy relationship with mobile phones and social media.
The proposals will build on the government’s broader action to ensure every child gets the best start in life, including a revised curriculum and better skills training.
Immediate action will include Ofsted checking school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to be phone-free by default thanks to today’s announcement.
Amid concerns that young people’s lives are dominated by too much time in front of devices, the government will support families by producing evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged 5 to 16. This is in addition to guidance for parents of under-fives that will be published in April.
Ministers will examine the most effective ways to go further to ensure children have healthy online experiences, building on the world-leading Online Safety Act.
A consultation on children’s use of technology – backed by a national conversation – will seek views from parents, young people and civil society – with the first events in a nationwide tour to be held in the days ahead. The government will respond to the consultation in the summer.
Evidence from around the world will be examined on a wide range of suggested proposals, including looking at whether a social media ban for children would be effective and if one was introduced how best to make it work. Ministers will visit Australia to learn first-hand from their approach.
The consultation will look at options including raising the digital age of consent, implementing phone curfews to avoid excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive design features such as ‘streaks’ and ‘infinite scrolling’.
Tougher guidance for schools on mobile phones will make it even clearer that schools need to be phone-free environments and that pupils should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons.
Ofsted will examine both schools’ mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented when judging behaviour during inspections. Schools that are struggling will get one-to-one support from Attendance and Behaviour Hub schools that are already effectively implementing phone bans.
Nearly all schools already have mobile phone policies in place – 99.9% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools. However, 58%**of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used without permission in at least some lessons, rising to 65% for key stage 4 pupils.(note)
The guidance will be implemented through behaviour management in schools, and by setting out clear expectations for teachers and school staff – including that staff should not use their own mobile phones for personal reasons in front of pupils, setting an example that mobile phones are not necessary in the classroom.
The social media consultation will seek views on a range of measures, including:
- determining the right minimum age for children to access social media, including exploring a ban for children under a certain age
- exploring ways to improve the accuracy of age assurance for children to support the enforcement of minimum age limits so children have age-appropriate experiences and see age-appropriate content
- assessing whether the current digital age of consent is too low
- removing or limiting functionalities which drive addictive or compulsive use of social media, such as ‘infinite scrolling’
- exploring further interventions to support parents in helping their children navigate the digital landscape, for example further guidance or simpler parental controls
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Through the Online Safety Act, this government has already taken clear, concrete steps to deliver a safer online world for our children and young people.
“These laws were never meant to be the end point, and we know parents still have serious concerns. That is why I am prepared to take further action.
“Technology has huge potential – to create jobs, transform public services, and improve lives. But we will only seize on that potential if people know they and their children are safe online.
“We are determined to ensure technology enriches children’s lives, not harms them – and to give every child the childhood they deserve.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “We have been clear that mobile phones have no place in our schools but now we’re going further through tougher guidance and stronger enforcement. Mobile phones have no place in schools. No ifs, no buts.
“Our Attendance and Behaviour Hubs will support schools that are struggling to effectively implement phone bans so all our children can learn in phone-free environments.
“This comes alongside our world-leading curriculum reforms which will ensure children build the media and digital literacy skills needed to thrive at work and throughout life.”
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, Sir Martyn Oliver, said: “My message to headteachers is you now have all the backing – and the backing of my inspectors – to ban mobile phones in schools immediately.
“They chip away at children’s attention span, distract from learning and can be detrimental to children’s wellbeing.”
The government this week unveiled new world-leading safety standards at the first government-led Global AI in Education Summit. These will inform tech companies to ensure that AI tools in education cannot use addictive or exploitative patterns, or any features which harm children’s social development and learning. Shaped by the feedback from thousands of pupils across the country, these standards will aim to protect children’s learning and wellbeing from over-reliance on AI.
The consultation forms part of a broader government effort to support children and young people, including through the National Youth Strategy, which is looking at ways to enrich children’s lives in the real world.
The Online Safety Act has already given the UK some of the most robust online safety laws in the world, keeping children safer and illegal content off people’s screens. 8 million people now access adult sites with age checks every day, and the number of visitors to pornography sites has reduced by a third since the rules came into force in July 2025, meaning children are less likely to stumble across material they should never see.
Children encountering age checks online has risen from 30% to 47% since the new rules took effect, and 58% of parents believe the measures are already improving children’s safety online. Ofcom is holding platforms to account, with investigations opened into over 80 pornography websites in 2025 and fines issued to companies that fail to protect young people. (note)
The government has gone further still. Cyberflashing is now a priority offence, so people are better protected from receiving unsolicited nude images. Content encouraging serious self-harm must be actively removed before it can cause harm. And the government has announced plans to ban AI ‘nudification’ tools outright, while working to stop children being able to take, share or view nude images on their devices.
These new proposals would build on this progress, specifically addressing features that can lead to excessive use, regardless of what children are viewing.
