New Insight Guidance Helps Schools Tackle Mobile Phones and Wearables
Phones are no longer the only device causing policy headaches in schools. Smart watches, camera-enabled glasses and other wearable devices can now be used to message, record, photograph, share information or access online content, often in ways that are less visible than a phone in a pupil’s hand.
Insight has produced two new guidance documents to help schools in England review their approach:
Mobile Phones in Schools
Smart Watches and Smart Glasses in Schools
The guidance has been developed in response to recent legislative changes and updated Department for Education guidance. It is designed to support nursery, primary and secondary settings as they review policies, procedures and day-to-day practice.
Why schools need to review device policies now
The Department for Education’s mobile phone guidance became statutory on 29 June 2026, with schools expected to follow it from 1 September 2026.
The guidance sets out an expectation that schools should have a mobile phone-free school day. That does not mean every situation is treated in exactly the same way. The DfE recognises that schools will need to make necessary exceptions, including where a pupil has a medical need or where a reasonable adjustment is required.
For many schools, the task is not starting from scratch. Most already have rules on phones, sanctions for misuse and expectations around storage. The challenge is checking whether those arrangements now meet the statutory expectations and whether they work in practice across the full school day.
That includes thinking about:
arrival and departure arrangements
break and lunch periods
lessons, assemblies and transitions
off-site activities
pupils with agreed exceptions
staff, visitor and volunteer use
safeguarding, privacy and data protection responsibilities
A written policy is only useful if everyone understands it. Pupils need to know what is allowed. Parents and carers need to know what will happen if a device is brought into school. Staff need consistent procedures that they can apply fairly.
The new Insight guidance aims to help schools work through those questions in a structured way.
Mobile phones remain a key safeguarding and behaviour issue
Mobile phones can affect schools in several ways. They may distract pupils from learning, increase the risk of online bullying during the school day or make it easier to share images and messages without consent. They can also complicate safeguarding concerns if pupils use personal devices to contact others, access harmful content or record incidents.
The DfE’s direction is clear. Schools in England are expected to create a phone-free environment during the school day, while still taking account of individual needs.
Insight’s Mobile Phones in Schools document supports leaders in reviewing how their current approach matches that expectation. It draws on current legislation, DfE safeguarding guidance and Information Commissioner’s Office guidance.
The aim is practical rather than theoretical. A school may need to decide whether phones are:
not brought to school at all
handed in at the start of the day
stored securely in bags or lockers
allowed only under a specific agreement
used by certain pupils for an agreed medical or accessibility reason
Each option has practical consequences. A ban on bringing phones to site may reduce in-school risks, but some parents and carers may raise concerns about travel to and from school. Secure storage requires systems, supervision and clear responsibility. Allowing phones to remain in bags can be simple, but it depends on consistent enforcement.
There is no single procedure that fits every setting. A small nursery, a rural primary school and a large secondary school will have different risks and routines. What matters is that the approach is clear, lawful, consistently applied and understood.
Wearable technology creates less obvious risks
Phone policies often focus on a device that is easy to recognise. Wearable technology is different.
Smart watches can look like ordinary watches at a glance. Camera-enabled glasses can look like normal eyewear. Some devices can receive messages, make calls, record audio, take photographs, film video or connect to online services.
That matters because a policy that only refers to “mobile phones” may not cover newer devices clearly enough. A pupil may be able to communicate or record without removing a phone from a bag. A visitor may wear camera-enabled glasses during a school event. A member of staff may use a smart watch for convenience without realising that notifications are visible to pupils.
Insight’s Smart Watches and Glasses in Schools guidance helps schools consider these less visible risks.
This includes devices such as:
smart watches with messaging, calling or camera functions
fitness-style watches with connected features
camera-enabled glasses
Meta glasses and similar wearable devices
other devices capable of recording, transmitting or displaying information
The issue is not the brand of device. The issue is what the device can do.
A smart watch used only to count steps may present a different risk from a watch that receives messages from a parent during lessons. Camera-enabled glasses worn on a school trip raise different questions from reading glasses with no connected function. A blanket statement may feel simple, but it needs enough detail to be useful.
Schools also need to avoid focusing only on pupils. Staff, visitors, contractors, volunteers and parents on site may all bring wearable technology into school. That is especially relevant in early years settings, safeguarding-sensitive areas, changing areas, medical rooms, performances, trips and meetings.
Policies need to cover pupils, staff and visitors
A strong device policy should set expectations for the whole school community.
For pupils, the focus is often behaviour, concentration, wellbeing and safeguarding. For staff, the policy also needs to address professional boundaries, confidentiality and the handling of school information. For visitors, it should make clear what is expected when they enter school premises.
That does not mean writing a long policy for every device. It means using clear language that covers current and emerging technology.
For example, a school may choose to define personal technology as devices that can:
communicate with others
connect to the internet
take photographs or video
record audio
store or display personal information
send or receive notifications
That kind of definition can make a policy more resilient as devices change.
The guidance also encourages schools to think about how expectations are communicated. A rule hidden in a policy document may not be enough. Schools may need reminders in parent communications, staff induction, visitor information, pupil planners, behaviour policies or acceptable use agreements.
Consistency matters. If pupils are told that personal devices cannot be used during the school day, but adults visibly check smart watch messages in front of them, the rule becomes harder to defend. If visitors are not informed about camera-enabled glasses, staff may have to deal with concerns after recording has already taken place.
Safeguarding, privacy and data protection all overlap
Mobile phones and wearable devices sit at the meeting point of several responsibilities.
Schools need to consider safeguarding. They also need to think about privacy, consent, personal data and the safe handling of images or recordings. A device that can record or transmit information may create risk even if it is not being used for that purpose at a given moment.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced guidance that is relevant to how organisations handle personal information, images and recording. DfE safeguarding guidance also informs how schools should manage risks to pupils and respond to concerns.
Insight’s two new documents bring these threads together for education settings. They are intended to help schools ask informed questions, such as:
Does the current mobile phone policy reflect statutory DfE expectations?
Does the policy cover smart watches and camera-enabled glasses?
Are exceptions for medical needs and reasonable adjustments clear?
Do staff know what to do if a device is misused?
Are visitors told about recording and device expectations?
Does the approach protect pupils’ privacy and personal data?
Are sanctions proportionate and applied consistently?
Is the school’s practice different from what the written policy says?
These questions are especially useful because device issues rarely sit neatly in one policy area. A single incident could involve behaviour, safeguarding, data protection, parental communication and staff conduct.
For example, if a pupil records another pupil without consent, the school may need to consider behaviour sanctions, safeguarding concerns and whether the image has been shared. If a visitor uses camera-enabled glasses at a school event, staff may need to act quickly to protect privacy. If a pupil uses a smart watch for a medical reason, the school must make sure necessary access is not blocked by a broad rule.
The best approach is usually one that combines clear expectations with careful exceptions.
What the Insight guidance covers
The two documents provide practical advice for schools in England as they review their arrangements.
They support leaders to think beyond a simple ban and look at the operational details that make a policy work. That includes how devices are stored, how exceptions are recorded, how staff respond to misuse and how the school communicates expectations to the wider community.
The guidance is relevant to:
nursery settings
primary schools
secondary schools
special schools and alternative provision, where appropriate to context
school leaders reviewing behaviour or safeguarding policies
data protection leads and designated safeguarding leads
staff responsible for visitor procedures and acceptable use policies
The documents are not intended to replace a school’s own legal advice where that is needed. They are a practical support tool, based on current legislation, DfE safeguarding guidance and ICO guidance.
The key benefit is that schools can use them to test whether existing policies are clear enough for the devices pupils and adults now bring onto site.
A mobile phone-free day still needs careful exceptions
The phrase “mobile phone-free school day” can sound absolute. In practice, schools still need to manage exceptions properly.
Some pupils may need a device for medical reasons. Others may require a reasonable adjustment linked to disability or individual need. There may also be exceptional circumstances agreed with the school.
The important point is that exceptions should be planned, recorded and understood by relevant staff. They should not rely on informal arrangements that only one member of staff knows about.
A careful approach might include:
a written agreement for the exception
clear limits on when and how the device can be used
staff awareness where needed
review dates
arrangements for privacy and safeguarding
a plan for what happens if the device is misused
This protects pupils who genuinely need access while keeping expectations firm for everyone else.
It also helps staff avoid uncertainty. If a pupil says they are allowed to keep a phone or smart watch, staff should be able to check that quickly and discreetly. Clear systems reduce conflict and support fair decision-making.
Why this matters across all phases
Technology risks do not begin in secondary school.
Early years and nursery settings may need to focus more on adult use, visitor recording and privacy around young children. Primary schools may need clear expectations for families, trips, clubs and transition to secondary school. Secondary schools often face more complex issues around pupil ownership, behaviour, online harm and enforcement at scale.
The same principles apply, but the practice will look different.
In a nursery, leaders may be more concerned about whether visitors can take photographs or whether staff receive personal notifications on wearable devices. In a primary setting, pupils may have phones for the journey home but no need to access them during the day. In a secondary school, the challenge may be applying a whole-site approach consistently across a large number of pupils and staff.
That is why device guidance needs to be flexible enough to support different contexts, while still giving schools a clear route through the legal and safeguarding issues.
How subscribing schools can access the documents
Both Insight guidance documents are available at no cost to schools that subscribe to Insight’s annual support service package.
Subscribing schools can request copies by contacting:
Schools interested in learning more about the annual support package are also welcome to get in touch using the same email address.
For many schools, the next step is simple: compare current policies with the new statutory position, check whether wearable technology is covered, and make sure exceptions are clearly managed.
Mobile phones, smart watches and smart glasses will keep changing. School policies need to be clear enough for today and flexible enough for what comes next.
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