A shorter version of this article appeared in The Daily Mail on 13 February 2025
Recently, I was delighted to receive the following message from a headteacher of a secondary school in Scotland:
“Thank you for promoting your mobile phone policy at Berwickshire High. It gave us the courage to adopt a very similar model and has made a significant difference to behaviour, wellbeing and learning & teaching in a short time.”
This was a great message to read. In August 2020, Berwickshire High School was one of the first schools in Scotland to go ‘mobile phone free’. The positive impact has been huge and it is rewarding to know that others are benefiting from what they have learned from Berwickshire High School’s success. This article has been written to summarise some of the key points relating to this.
The context of Berwickshire High School
When I started as headteacher of Berwickshire High School in August 2020, the school wasn’t in great shape. There had been an inspection the year before, which had resulted in the following evaluations:[1]
In the pre-inspection questionnaire, a significant proportion of students indicated they didn’t feel safe or happy at school. For example:[2]
| Strongly agree or agree | |
| I feel safe when I am at school | 58% |
| My school helps me to feel safe | 49% |
| Other young people treat me fairly and with respect | 46% |
| My school deals well with any bullying | 23% |
Fast forward to the re-inspection visit in 2021 and inspectors reported the following:[3]
“With strong and supportive leadership from the headteacher, all senior leaders are working effectively with young people and staff to set clear expectations for learning and behaviour… The school environment now provides a calm and orderly context for learning. Almost all young people demonstrate maturity, respect and courtesy in classes, social areas, and the school grounds… Staff and young people report that the school is a more pleasant and rewarding place to learn and that they feel safer.”
In the time between inspection visits, there had been a transformation in school ethos, including student behaviour. And yet, most of the staff and students remained the same. What had changed?
In short, the school had established clear policies and procedures for almost all aspects of school life. There was a sense of direction and everyone knew what was expected. This included in relation to mobile phones which were now, effectively, banned in the building. We did this because we wanted students and staff to be happier and for the school to feel safer. Both outcomes have been achieved.
Pre-planning
In the weeks leading up to my first day as headteacher, I met with the depute headteachers to discuss and agree key messages I would be sharing with staff and students on their first day back after the summer holiday. One of the proposals I put on the table was that Berwickshire High School should be a ‘mobile-phone free school’. In essence, this would mean that while students would be allowed to bring their phones to school, these wouldn’t be allowed to be seen, heard or used in the building at any point during the school day. This meant in lessons, at transitions between lessons, and during morning break and lunch. The reason I didn’t propose an all-out ban on students bringing their phones to school were two-fold. Firstly, I felt this would be almost impossible to monitor. Secondly, I suspected we wouldn’t get parental buy-in. The ‘mobile-free’ approach was one that I felt could be implemented very quickly and would be straightforward to enforce. Both proved true.
The only other body I consulted prior to announcing the policy with staff and students was the Parent Council. I met with the chair and explained what we wanted to do and why. He took soundings and confirmed that the Parent Council backed the policy. As with so many of the initiatives Berwickshire High School has introduced, including in relation to curriculum, teaching practice and staff professional development, the successes have come about as a result of being brave, bold and innovative.
Implementation
On my first day as headteacher (which was a staff INSET day), I met with staff and outlined a wide range of proposed policies and procedures relating to student behaviour. Staff recognised the need for swift action, and we implemented these immediately (with some in pilot form). The policy on mobile phones was as follows:
Mobile Phones Policy
Berwickshire High School is a ‘mobile phone-free school’.
While mobile phones can be brought to school, they are not to be seen, heard or used at any time whilst in the school building. This includes at break and lunch times, during transitions, and before the bell goes to mark the start of the school day.
If a student breaches this rule, normal school discipline procedures apply.
Mobile phones can be used whilst outside.
Under no circumstances should phones be used to photograph or film any student or member of staff, without their permission.
Like all the new policies we wrote and implemented in Berwickshire High School, the Mobile Phones Policy was simple and clear. (I have a rule that policies and improvement plans shouldn’t be more than two sides of A4.) There were no grey areas.
On the first day students returned to school, I led a series of assemblies in which I introduced myself and, amongst other things, made clear the new rules for the school. One of these was a zero-tolerance approach to students swearing at staff, which had an immediate, positive effect. Another was the new policy on mobile phones.
As you might imagine, not at every student was ecstatically happy about this. However, there was immediate compliance and an instant, positive impact. I believe the reasons were because the rules were clear, and all staff played their part in monitoring and enforcing these. Importantly, staff also led by example – they made sure their mobile phones weren’t seen or heard, either.
Impact
If you walk into Berwickshire High School today, it’s unusual to see a student using a mobile phone at any time whilst they are in the building. Occasionally, you might see one, but this will almost always be put away instantly with a low-key reminder. More often than not, this will be accompanied by an apology. On the very rare occasions when a student doesn’t comply, as the Mobile Phone Policy states, normal school discipline procedures are used. For example, there might be a phone call home. Or, the student might be issued a lunchtime detention. (The introduction of lunchtime and after-school detention systems have also been instrumental in turning around poor standards of student behaviour.)
Because students are no longer allowed to use mobile phones in lessons, they are paying more attention to their teachers, which means they are learning more. Teachers aren’t having to spend time telling students to get off their phones as they are teaching. At transitions between lessons, break and lunchtimes, students are talking to each other, rather than sitting with their heads in screens. Although a direct cause-and-effect relationship can sometimes be difficult to evidence, I am convinced that one of the main reasons students report that they are happier at school and that there is significantly less bullying is because of the impact of the mobile phones policy.
Lessons that can be learned
As previously mentioned, Berwickshire High School was one of the first – if not the first – schools in Scotland to implement a ‘mobile-phone free’ policy. Its effectiveness comes from a combination of clarity and consistency.
For example, I don’t believe it would have been as effective if we’d said students were allowed to use phones in the building during break and lunch times. Similarly, if we’d said certain year groups could use phones but others couldn’t, I don’t believe we’d have achieved the same success. If we had said that it was okay for students to use certain apps or features of phones in lessons, such a calculator, the whole approach would have broken down pretty quickly. Grey areas are usually the fastest route to failure.
Occasionally, I hear people suggest that the reason Berwickshire High School has had such success with its mobile-phone free policy is because all students have a one-to-one device, given to them by the local authority. It is true that they do have these, but we would have implemented the mobile-phone free policy even if they didn’t. Mobile phones and one-to-one devices are not essential to high-quality teaching and learning in school. In my experience, both often get in the way of great teaching and learning in lessons. For example, a teacher might be tempted to get students to learn something by internet research simply because they have instant access to a device that lets them do this. However, as so much educational research evidence tells us, this often isn’t a particular good way for students to learn. If students need a calculator, teachers can let them borrow these. They shouldn’t need to use their mobile phone. Arguments that mobile phones facilitate teaching and learning are usually red herrings.
Summary
The mobile-phone free policy implemented by Berwickshire High School in August 2020 has been transformational and it continues to be extremely effective today, approaching five years on. As proven by other schools that have gone down a similar route, any school can become ‘mobile-phone free’ and achieve similar success. It takes a bit of effort, but the payoff is more than worth it. Standards of behaviour in Berwickshire High School today are up there with the best of any state school in Scotland. The ‘mobile-phone free’ policy has been instrumental in helping achieve this.
Bruce Robertson is the Director of Next Level Educational, an education author and headteacher of Berwickshire High School.
[1] https://education.gov.scot/inspection-and-review/find-an-inspection-report/find-an-inspection-report/details?id=1647
[2] ibid
[3] https://www.berwickshirehighschool.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=509&type=pdf