68 Schools ban smartphones in Buckinghamshire due to wellbeing fears
Dozens of schools in Buckinghamshire have agreed to a blanket ban on smartphones by joining a new campaign.
Today, it has been revealed that 68 schools in the Buckinghamshire area have agreed to be smartphone-free starting from the next academic year in September.
It is estimated that over 24,000 children will not have access to phones during term time under the agreement. A coordinated ban on smartphones was agreed in a meeting in January.
Emma Reynolds and Sarah Green, the MPs for Wycombe and Chesham and Amersham respectively, attended, alongside parents and headteachers.
From September 2026, all participating schools will introduce a unified smartphone ban. Primary school children will not be permitted to bring smartphones or smart watches onto school premises. At secondary level, most of the schools will have a policy that new Year 7 students entering from September 2026 will not be allowed to bring smartphones or smart watches onto school premises, though a simple non-internet enabled phone will be permitted.
A joint letter has been sent to parents and signed by the headteachers of all 68 schools. It outlines how schools that have already outlawed smartphones report that they are calmer learning environments with fewer safeguarding incidents.
Guidance from the schools encourages parents to refrain from giving their children smartphones until they have completed Year 9. They also think that children should not have access to social media until they turn 16.
Where a child needs a device for safety reasons - such as travelling independently - schools recommend a basic phone without internet access. The letter states: “While smartphones can be useful tools for adults, there is increasing evidence that early smartphone use negatively affects children’s wellbeing and mental health, and introduces significant safeguarding risks — including impaired concentration, sleep disruption, anxiety and depression, exposure to harmful content, online bullying and greater social isolation.”
Further meetings with schools in Aylesbury are scheduled for September.
Rob Hacking, headteacher, Little Chalfont Primary School, said: “We went smartphone-free last year after more than half of our parents signed the Smartphone Free Childhood parent pact. It has been great for the school. Over the last few months, it has been wonderful to see all of our local teaching community come together on this issue. It will make a big difference for kids in our area.”
This 68-school agreement is considered one of the largest joint-education projects in the country. Smartphone Free Childhood is the campaign group behind the scheme.
“At Amersham School, we’re proud to be leading the way on this issue. Our focus is always on creating an environment where students can learn, concentrate and thrive and we know that reducing distractions during the school day supports this. Parents in our feeder primary schools have made it clear that this is something that they care about and so it’s so positive to be able to address this as a community of schools in a co-ordinated way,” said Katie Strain, deputy head, Amersham School.
A Smartphone Free Childhood Parent Pact set up by the volunteer group has been signed by 4,300 parents in Buckinghamshire.
“We were proud to be the first state secondary school in Buckinghamshire to implement a ‘basic phones only’ approach for our current Year 7 students and are pleased to see this approach being adopted across many local schools. The impact has been clear - our Year 7 students have faced significantly fewer issues related to safeguarding and wellbeing online and have a greater focus on learning. We hope that the collective action being taken in Buckinghamshire supports families to feel confident in delaying access to smartphones and social media for their children,” said Mike Worth, the deputy head at The Misbourne School.
Here is the full list of participating schools:
Secondary schools in the High Wycombe and Princes Risborough area:
-Cressex Community School, High Wycombe
-Godstowe School, High Wycombe
-Pipers Corner School, High Wycombe
-Princes Risborough School, Princes Risborough (signal-blocking pouches)
-Sir William Ramsay School, High Wycombe (signal-blocking pouches)
-Wycombe High School, High Wycombe
Primary Schools in the High Wycombe and Princes Risborough area:
-Abbey View Primary Academy, High Wycombe
-Booker Hill Primary School, High Wycombe
-Carrington Infant School, High Wycombe
-Carrington Junior School, High Wycombe
-Cedar Park School, High Wycombe
-Godstowe School, High Wycombe
-Great Kingshill Combined School, High Wycombe
-Freith Church of England Combined School, High Wycombe
-Hazlemere Church of England Combined School, High Wycombe
-Holmer Green Junior School, High Wycombe
-Highworth Combined School, High Wycombe
-Juniper Hill School, High Wycombe
-Loudwater Combined School, High Wycombe
-Radnage Church of England Primary School, High Wycombe
-Stokenchurch Primary School, High Wycombe
-The Downley School, High Wycombe
-Tylers Green Middle School, High Wycombe
-Widmer End Community Combined School, High Wycombe
Secondary schools participating in Chesham, Amersham, Great Missenden, The Chalfonts, Gerrards Cross and Denham:
-Amersham School, Amersham
-The Chalfonts Community College, Chalfont St Peter
-Dr Challoner's Grammar School, Amersham
-Chesham Grammar School, Chesham
-The Misbourne School, Great Missenden
-Thorpe House School, Gerrards Cross
Primary schools participating in Chesham, Amersham, Great Missenden, The Chalfonts, Gerrards Cross and Denham:
-Brushwood Junior School, Chesham
-Chalfont St. Giles Infant & Nursery, Chalfont St Giles
-Chalfont St. Giles Junior School, Chalfont St Giles
-Chartridge Combined School, Chesham
-Chesham Bois Church of England School, Chesham Bois
-Chesham Preparatory School, Chesham
-Chestnut Lane School, Amersham
-Coleshill CofE Infant School, Amersham
-Curzon CofE Combined School, Amersham
-Denham Village School, Denham
-Elangeni School, Amersham
-Elmtree Infant and Nursery School, Chesham
-Gateway School, Great Missenden
-Gayhurst School, Gerrards Cross
-Great Missenden CofE Combined School, Great Missenden
-Hawridge and Cholesbury CofE School, Chesham
-Heatherton School, Amersham
-Hyde Heath Infant School, Hyde Heath
-Ivingswood Academy, Chesham
-Lee Common Church of England School, Lee Common
-Ley Hill School, Chesham
-Little Chalfont Primary School, Little Chalfont
-Little Kingshill Combined School, Great Missenden
-Little Missenden CofE School, Amersham
-Maltman's Green School, Gerrards Cross
-Newtown School, Chesham
-Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Amersham
-Prestwood Infant School, Prestwood
-Prestwood Junior School, Prestwood
-St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chalfont St Peter
-St Mary's CofE Primary School, Amersham,
-St Mary's School, Gerrards Cross,
-St. George's CofE Infant School, Amersham
-The Beacon School, Amersham
-The Gerrards Cross CofE School, Gerrards Cross
-Thomas Harding Junior School, Chesham
-Thorpe House School, Gerrards Cross
-Waterside Primary Academy, Chesham
-Woodside Junior School, Amersham