What do you use to stop students usng mobile phones in schools, just curious what is out there?

[paulkerton]

 

2 hours ago, Rob_D said:

As I recall, the general consensus here was that putting MDM on students' personal devices was at best treading into a legally grey area that you'd be better steering clear of. And a quick look makes blackout sound functionally like a stripped down MDM.

Also: https://www.madeformums.com/news/blackout-phone-app-privacy-concerns/

Setting a precedent where schools manage personal property is a massive overreach. The idea that schools believe they can mandate it is also pretty wild. I guess the strategy is hoping 95% of parents just give up and stop sending devices in or switch to feature phones. Who is liable if the MDM bricks a £1000 phone? Blackout also requires location services to enable the geofencing. They recommend schools don't use the tracking feature but that's just ignoring privacy by design.
 

There is a massive difference between a school's right to confiscate a device or asking staff to use MFA, versus managing and altering a personal device just because the user attends a specific school.

The school didn't pay for it, they don't own it, and it essentially encourages parents to abdicate all responsibility for their child's digital behaviours to the school's IT department. Anyone monitoring it 24/7?
 

Also, those magnetically locked pouches sound like a win until the kids inevitably organise a "set an alarm for every 10 minutes" protest.

I can't believe anyone thinks any of these are a good idea, but that's just me.

[pete]

Has anyone got the text of the comms sent out?  I mentioned it over coffee to one of our headteachers and they didn't think it was substantially different to the existing guidance linked up-thread.

[markwilfan]

How's this going in other schools? We are going live 8th June

[nicholab]

On 27/01/2026 at 09:13, Julian said:

The no phones for staff is a problem, when certain critcal web apps require Google authenticator for 2FA (Bromcom I am looking at you).

It also does not treat adults as adults.

[mdrabble]

Each form group has a box with foam inserts where students slot their phone into - on the box lid and a layout with student names with the slot location.

 

Morning registration, all phones are collected in and placed into this box and then the boxes are taken to nominated cupboard for the form group by staff and are collected by staff at the PM Registration at the end of the school day.

 

Each cupboard is fitted with a Paxton Reader and Maglocks, etc and only accessible with Staff ID Cards (we also have 6th Form with ID Cards)

CCTV Camera on each cupboard in case anyone tries to force to cupboards.

 

Paxton installed by myself, so just the cost per cupboard

 

We been using this since the start of the year and been going well.

 

If staff are told to check student turn phones off in front of them before putting to the box, try and avoid some students trying to pass off old phones being used in order to keep their "proper" phone.

Edited May 20 by mdrabble

[Bankesy]

Hi all,

 

Figured this might be the best place for a Yondr based question rather than starting a new thread. We are moving to them\that model in September and already this has generated some questions from some departments who have, up until now, trusted GCSE\A-Level students to use their phones in class (can debate right or wrong on that later) for certain tasks.

 

There seems to have been an instant reaction of, throw more tech at it, from, get a set of tablets to add more computers.

 

So I am just wondering if anybody else has found themselves in this position with the mobile phone ban and how, if they were being used in class for work, did you address that issue?

 

Thanks in advance

[3s-gtech]

We bought a small set of iPads to fulfil that role. Has worked okay, but they are heavily used and we don’t have enough!

Edited July 20 by 3s-gtech

[Rob_D]

35 minutes ago, Bankesy said:

So I am just wondering if anybody else has found themselves in this position with the mobile phone ban and how, if they were being used in class for work, did you address that issue?

We're only up to GCSE, but we've had the same thing come up and our solution is get a of tablets for classes where this is required. Although some departments are dragging their feet on getting the kit as I assume their plan to wait for the head to cave and allow phones in their lessons.

If we were going to allow phones in some lessons, the phone based lessons would get portable unlocking stations. But exceptions like that are generally considered a bad idea, as "phone free school" meaning "no phones out of pouches on school site" is easy to get and enforce and deal with, once you start making exceptions and watering it down, it gets harder to enforce and easier for the kids to subvert (give them an inch they'll take a mile).

[E_G_R2]

In INSET meeting today the school was informed that we have a grant that allows us to use Blackout for free for 5 years and it will be rolled out in stages with a view to three scenarios:

 

1. No Phone

2. Brick

3. Blackout phone for medical use.

 

no mention of IT input as yet.