Britain’s strictest headteacher pinpoints ‘one thing’ parents can do to help their children in school: ‘Most dangerous thing on the planet’

Katharine Birbalsingh, known as ‘Britain’s Strictest Headteacher’, has sparked debate with her recent comments on GB News about smartphones and children.

When asked by Miriam Cates the “one thing” parents can do to improve their children’s prospects in school, Birbalsingh stated emphatically: “Don’t give them a smartphone. They should not be given a smartphone until after 16. They are the most dangerous things on the planet.”

She warned of the risks, saying: “Everyone from a gang member to a paedophile putting your child in danger. Then there’s also the issue of the smartphone breaking their brains.”

Birbalsingh argued that smartphones hinder children’s reading habits and academic performance. “They’ll get to a point where they don’t read at all,” she cautioned, adding that without smartphones, children “will get the best possible GCSEs, they will know how to organise their time, they won’t get addicted.”

Northern Ireland’s Education Minister Paul Givan has recently issued new guidance on restricting mobile phone use in schools. The measures, announced just two days ago, advise that pupils should not use their phones during the school day, with limited access at break and lunch times.

Givan stated: “There was growing evidence that phones distract children from learning.”

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The guidance suggests various approaches, including:

Preventing pupils from bringing personal mobile devices onto school premises.

Making pupils hand in their phones upon arrival.

Keeping phones in secure storage during school hours.

Ensuring phones are switched off and out of sight.

While not legally binding, schools are expected to review their current rules in light of this guidance.

Givan emphasised: “Restricting their use during the school day allows children to better concentrate, engage and learn.”

The debate around mobile phone use in schools extends beyond Northern Ireland. In England, the government issued similar guidance earlier this year, suggesting measures like students handing in phones upon arrival.

Scotland followed suit in August with comparable recommendations.

In contrast, Wales has not yet issued national guidance, leaving decisions to individual schools.

The issue has gained traction across the UK, with some MPs calling for a ban on smartphones for under-16s.

This aligns with recommendations from Unesco, the UN’s education and science body, which has advised banning smartphones in schools to tackle classroom disruption and improve learning.

A study by the Policy Exchange think tank in May revealed that only one in 10 secondary schools in the UK have an ‘effective ban’ on mobile phones.