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xScottish Government consults on restrictions on mobile phone use in Scotland's schools
Date: 9th September 2026
Category:
Civil Rights and Freedoms
Deadline 17th November 2026
On 25 August, 2026, Scottish Government launched a consultation on restricting students' use of mobile phones across all schools in Scotland. This comes after Education Secretary Mairi McAllan announced in a press release in June that a call for views on phone-free school learning environments would come within the new government's first 100 days. The consultation will run until 17 November, 2026.
Consultation questions focus on the times at which mobile phones should be restricted; how phones are currently used in schools; the potential positive and negative consequences of restricting mobile phone usage in schools; exceptions for certain children and young people; the reduction in parents' direct contact with their children if legislation is passed; and extending restrictions on usage to wearable digital devices, amongst others.
The consultation seeks views on the personal use of mobile phones in schools only. It does not cover the use of mobile phones and/or social media outside school campuses or at home. The use of mobile phones and/or other digital devices with the express purpose of supporting learning is also beyond the scope of this consultation.
Together plans to submit a response to the consultation, answering the questions that align most with our expertise and for which we have the most evidence from children and young people. If members have any useful information or resources that could inform our response, or that they would like us to highlight in our submission, please get in touch with Christina Yuen, Policy Assistant (christina@togetherscotland.org.uk) by 17 October, 2026, to ensure that we have sufficient time to integrate members' input into our answers.
For more information about the consultation, please visit this page on the Scottish Government website. The consultation questions can be found in the supporting documents section.