![\"Portobello](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\")
<\/a>Portobello High School is one of the schools which has been running a pilot scheme for a future Edinburgh phone ban (C) M J Richardson \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\nA ban on mobile phones in\u00a0primary\u00a0schools was agreed in September but has been delayed by an\u00a0integrated\u00a0impact\u00a0assessment (IIA).\u00a0<\/p>\n
That assessment will be completed by the end of January and will eventually be updated with findings from the secondary school consultation and pilot schemes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Responses to those pilot schemes, gathered through the consultation process, from students have been described as \u201cmostly positive\u201d,\u00a0while the mood among teachers has not yet been\u00a0disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The most positive feedback has been from the S1-3 cohort, while S4-6 pupils have had a more \u201cmixed\u201d reaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feedback from teachers will be\u00a0disclosed\u00a0at the meeting for the EC&F Committee next Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councillor James Dalgleish,\u00a0education,\u00a0children and\u00a0families\u00a0convener, was cautiously optimistic, but stressed the importance of not rushing into any decisions:\u00a0\u201cIn September 2025, it was agreed that restricting the use of mobile phones in our schools would be a positive step forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want these new measures to be brought in as soon as possible but it is the right thing to do to make sure that citywide consultation with families and communities, alongside an integrated impact assessment, takes place to explore and address any issues or concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are now well underway, and an interim update report will be discussed at Education, Children and Families committee next week.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThrough many conversations, I understand that there is broad support for keeping smartphones out of the classroom, however there are individuals who have concerns which makes it even more important that as a Council we get this change right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPilots, using lockable pouches, at Queensferry and Portobello High Schools have anecdotally been successful, but not\u00a0wholly without\u00a0challenges, and as such the rollout of pouches in other settings needs to be explored.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes options for financing mobile phone restrictions and the potential use of lockable pouches in secondary schools and lockable cabinets in primary schools.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report cautioned that results in terms of attainment and attendance cannot be measured at this stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Council officials state: \u201cEvaluating the impact of lockable pouches on aspects of education, such as attendance and attainment, will take time and is linked to the school improvement planning cycle and reporting on levels of attainment and achievement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs such, some elements of impact cannot be evaluated at this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the early impact of phone pouches on daily school life, particularly engagement in learning, can be assessed on an ongoing basis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pupils continue to be consulted about the ban with the consultation not expected to be concluded until March, but the early assessment looks positive for the ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also outlined by the report are several options for implementing a full ban or limited restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Option one, which is the\u00a0option\u00a0favoured by council officers in the event the consultation recommends a complete ban, will provide lockable pouches\u00a0\u00e0 la\u00a0South Queensferry and Portobello and lockable cabinets in primary schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Option\u00a0one is the most expensive, but will provide \u201cconsistency in all schools\u201d,\u00a0\u201cdoes not place an\u00a0additional\u00a0financial burden on schools and\/or families\u201d and \u201ccomplies with insurance\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report states that option one, the most comprehensive ban proposed, would require\u00a0an initial\u00a0investment of \u00a3400k with an annual cost of \u00a380k to \u00a3100k citywide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other options include lockable cabinets in some\/all secondary schools, and a mere policy ban, requiring schools to\u00a0determine\u00a0for themselves how to implement it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This last\u00a0option\u00a0is not recommended due to the potential passing on of costs to families and the fact it would be difficult to have every school fully align with consultation feedback.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councillor Dalgleish concluded: \u201cI am working closely with officers to move this forward as quickly as we can, while also making sure that we have done our due diligence to ensure that restricting mobile phones in our schools will have the intended positive impact.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A budget will\u00a0likely be\u00a0allocated\u00a0next month, but the council will not officially decide upon which\u00a0option\u00a0to\u00a0proceed\u00a0with until after the conclusion of the wider consultation in February and final IIA in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the meeting next Tuesday, the\u00a0committee will only be asked to note the options, with a final decision expected at an EC&F Committee in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From there, the council will begin procurement and engagement with affected local communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The earliest possible date for implementation of pouches in secondary schools \u2013 a comprehensive ban \u2013 is December 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the council decides to allow schools to\u00a0determine\u00a0for themselves how to enforce a ban, schools could be phone-free by August.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FEEDBACK from school pupils on pilot programmes for Edinburgh\u2019s plans to restrict mobile phone usage in secondary schools…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,37802,157222,209024,4884,39305,39306,712,209025,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-692086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-edinburgh-council","11":"tag-edinburgh-schools","12":"tag-education-edinburgh","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-portobello-high-school","15":"tag-queensferry-high-school","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-smartphone-ban","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Portobello](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SMARTPHONE_BAN_DN01.jpg\"\/)
<\/a>Portobello High School is one of the schools which has been running a pilot scheme for a future Edinburgh phone ban (C) M J Richardson \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n