By Alistair Grant

Copyright scotsman

The Scottish Government agrees that mobile phones should be banned in school classrooms, the Education Secretary has said. However, Jenny Gilruth said it is up to headteachers to decide whether to implement such a ban. It came as Scottish Labour used its debating time in Holyrood on Wednesday to push for a national ban on mobiles in school classrooms. With concerns rising about behaviour in Scotland’s schools, the party’s education spokeswoman Pam Duncan-Glancy argued teachers are “firefighting disruption”. But Ms Gilruth said the Government previously issued guidance to schools which means “headteachers are already empowered to carry out mobile phone bans” if they see fit to do so. “The Government agrees with the premise behind the Scottish Labour Party motion, that mobile phones should be banned in our schools,” she said. “The motion today from Labour is very simple. People like that from politics: simple solutions to the challenges of the modern age. “I do think it’s missing something though – that is the professional judgement of Scotland’s teachers, who we trust to educate our children every day.” Ms Gilruth agreed mobile phones “can be a distraction to learning and teaching”, but stressed it is local authorities who are responsible for running schools, “not the Scottish Government”. The Education Secretary added: “The position of our guidance is that we trust Scotland’s headteachers to take the action they consider necessary, including a mobile phone ban across the school day.” Ms Duncan-Glancy claimed the Government had “issued guidance and then shrugged”, leaving it to individual councils and schools to deal with the issue. She said: “We now have a postcode lottery with teachers left to bear the weight of this crucial decision. What we’re asking for is national clarity – no phones in class for learners.” She said banning phones for pupils in class would be a “practical, proportionate step”. Ms Duncan-Glancy added: “The Government has dithered and the Government has delayed. Schools have improvised, parents have worried, and pupils have paid the price.” She said schools can “keep muddling through” with the current guidance, or instead the Government could “set a clear expectation that every child in Scotland deserves a calm, phone-free lesson as standard, not as a postcode perk”.