Secondary school phone misuse falls to lowest level since 2022 as stricter policies spread

Teacher Tapp data from England shows 34% of secondary teachers saw students using banned phones in the past week, while the share of schools collecting devices or using pouches and lockers has risen sharply

Teacher Tapp data from England shows fewer secondary teachers are reporting students using mobile phones when school rules prohibit them

Reported mobile phone misuse in secondary schools in England has fallen to its lowest level since Teacher Tapp began tracking it in 2022, alongside a marked shift toward tighter rules on how students store devices during the school day.

In September 2026, 34% of secondary teachers said they had seen students using mobile phones when they should not have during the previous week. That compares with 53% in September 2025 and 60% in October 2024.

The fall comes as more secondary schools move beyond rules requiring phones simply to remain out of sight.

This year, 39% of secondary teachers said their school collects phones or requires students to use pouches or lockers. The equivalent figure was 18% in September 2025 and just 3% in 2018.

Of those working under a collection, pouch or locker policy, 60% said their school uses pouches, 29% collects devices and 10% uses lockers.

The proportion saying phones must remain out of sight all day has fallen from 56% in 2025 to 47% in 2026. Only 6% report a complete ban on phones being brought onto the school site.

More permissive arrangements have become increasingly uncommon. Just 2% of secondary teachers said phones are allowed at break and lunch but not during lessons, while 3% allow devices to remain out of sight unless a teacher directs students to use them.

No respondents in the latest secondary survey said phones were permitted at all times.

Tighter rules associated with less reported misuse

Teacher Tapp also compared reported misuse with the mobile phone policy operating in each secondary school.

Teachers working in schools where phones were banned from the site reported the lowest level of misuse, at 21%. The figure was almost identical, 22%, where phones were collected or stored in pouches or lockers.

Misuse was reported by 43% of teachers where the rule was simply that phones remain out of sight all day.

Rates were higher under some of the more flexible policies. Half of teachers working in schools where phones could be used when directed by a teacher reported seeing misuse, rising to 52% where phones were permitted at break and lunch but not during lessons.

The figures show an association between tighter policies and lower reported misuse, although the survey data does not establish that the policies themselves caused the reduction.

The pattern has strengthened over the past two years. In 2024, 42% of teachers in schools with a complete site ban reported seeing misuse, compared with 21% in 2026. Among schools collecting phones or using pouches and lockers, the figure fell from 32% to 22% over the same period.

Primary schools take a different approach

Mobile phone rules are less varied in primary schools in England.

In September 2026, 69% of primary teachers said phones are collected or stored in pouches or lockers, while 14% work in schools where devices are banned from the site and 15% said phones must remain out of sight throughout the day.

Collection remains the dominant approach within that 69%. Teacher Tapp found that 95% of those teachers said their school collects phones, while 2% use lockers and 1% use mobile phone pouches.

The longer-term picture is also more stable than in secondary schools. In 2018, 68% of primary teachers reported a collection, pouch or locker policy, compared with 69% in 2026.

Teacher Tapp’s panel covers teachers in England, with results weighted to reflect the national teacher population. Its secondary mobile policy questions have been answered by between 944 and 6,596 teachers depending on the survey date. The latest secondary policy survey included 5,471 respondents, while the equivalent primary survey included 3,158.

Teacher Tapp is due to examine mobile phone use during lessons next, providing another measure of whether tighter school policies are being reflected in students’ behavior.