Parents to be consulted on phones in Highland schools

Highland Council plans to consult parents and school staff on pupils' use of mobile phones in classrooms.

Nairn Academy and Grantown Grammar School have already introduced bans.

Councillors have now unanimously backed a proposal from Labour's Michael Gregson and Conservative's Helen Crawford for a wider consultation.

Mr Gregson and Ms Crawford said phones were having a disruptive effect on children and their education.

The proposal includes a commitment from the local authority to support schools that decide to ban the devices.

Inverness councillor Mr Gregson, who is a former teacher at Inverness Royal Academy, said phones were part of "an age of fragmented attention spans".

Aird and Loch Ness councillor Ms Crawford raised concerns about phones being used to take photos or videos of teachers in classrooms, and the material then being used to bully or embarrass staff.

She added: "At the end of the day, we want all our kids to thrive and having the constant distraction of a mobile phone clearly does not help.

"Let's get these phones out of our schools and let's free up our kids to concentrate and learn."

Highland Council has 29 secondary schools, three special schools and more than 170 primary schools.

Plans for the consultation follows pupils at two high schools in Edinburgh having to keep their mobiles in lockable pouches during the day under a new phone-free policy.

Students at Portobello High School and Queensferry High School are being issued with special wallets which once sealed require a magnetic pad to unlock them.

Pupils are allowed to keep their phones in their possession but will be expected to keep them in the pouches until the bell rings at the end of their final lesson.

Moray councillors voted earlier this month to bring in stricter guidelines limiting the use of mobiles in schools from August.

Councillors hoped the move would reduce disruption in the classroom, as well as stop some incidents of bullying.

Scottish government guidance allows head teachers to make their own decisions on mobile phone use but Moray Council has decided to introduce blanket guidance.

Moray's new policy would have exemptions for medical use such as diabetes monitoring.

Reporting by local democracy journalist Will Angus.