The pilot, which will begin in September 2025, will examine the benefits of restricting the use of mobile phones during the school day.
Paul Givan said: “Since becoming Education Minister, I have examined the evidence and listened to the concerns of parents and teachers about the use of mobile phones in schools. Many are concerned about the amount of time our young people spend on smartphones and there is overwhelming evidence of a negative relationship between smartphone use and adolescent mental health.
“Many schools have a mobile phone policy which involves some type of restriction but there are often challenges in fully enforcing these policies which means phone access is still easily available in toilets, in social spaces or corridors or at breaks. This can lead to safeguarding and other issues when inappropriately taken photographs or videos are used to bully, harass and invade the privacy rights of others.”
Addressing the concerns that have been voiced regarding the pilot, the Minister continued: “Currently there are different policies across schools, however, in many cases there are challenges in implementing these policies. For the pilot scheme we wanted all of the participating schools to be implementing a consistent approach. The decision to fund the pilot will help to support schools and to reduce the additional workload involved with trying to develop new or enforcing existing policies. The pilot will also allow us to better evaluate the impacts of reduced phone usage.
“There has been considerable media coverage of the University of Birmingham’s recent research findings from a small study of 1,227 students. While the report concluded that the removal of mobile phones in schools is not enough in isolation to tackle the negative impacts of mobile phone usage, it also recommended that there is a need for new policies and approaches that address in-school and outside of school use.”
The Department invited expressions of interest for the pilot from schools and over 50 were received. From these expressions of interest, nine post-primary schools representing a range of school types and geographical locations have been selected. The pilot will prevent pupils from using their phones during the school day. Pupils will have a pocket-sized fabric pouch with a magnetic latch that is sealed at the beginning of the school day and opened using a special unlocking base.
Paul Givan made the announcement during a visit to St Ronan’s College, Lurgan where he met with pupils to discuss the pilot. Paul Givan continued: “Today, I am pleased to be announcing the nine schools that will be participating in our phone-free pilot scheme from September 2025. Each of the schools have been very enthusiastic about taking part but I know that it means change for the pupils and change isn’t always easy.
“I enjoyed sitting down with both junior and senior pupils from St Ronan’s College to hear their thoughts on the pilot project at first hand. Sometimes people raise concerns about young people who need access to their smartphone during the school day, for reasons of health, disability, or other needs. I want to provide reassurance to parents that flexibility will be provided for these students.”
Welcoming the announcement, Mrs Fiona Kane, Principal of St Ronan’s College said: “This initiative marks a significant change for our students, but we are confident that, with the support of parents and staff it will have a profoundly positive impact on academic engagement, achievement, social interactions, and overall student health and well-being. We look forward to working with the Department of Education to evaluate the benefits this approach can bring to our school community.”
Rosalind McClean, Smartphone Free Childhood Regional Co-Leader for Northern Ireland added: “We welcome any steps secondary schools take in introducing measures to become fully smartphone free from bell-to-bell. With approximately one in four secondary schools registering an expression of interest in this pilot, we can see schools are welcoming help in this area.”
The pilot scheme will test and evaluate restricting access to mobile phones in schools. Paul Givan concluded: “Many countries across the world are taking steps to stop phone use at school and I wanted to develop a pilot scheme to inform our future policy decisions. Some schools are already putting in place their own policies, but I want us to give consideration to the development of a consistent approach, informed by this pilot, that will help all our schools to make a change that will benefit pupils, and have a positive impact on academic engagement and achievement.
“I believe that by restricting the use of mobile phones during the school day, children will be able to better concentrate, engage and learn, as well as enjoying ‘phone-free’ break and lunchtimes so they can play, have fun, participate in sports and socialise with their friends. The pilot will help inform future policy decisions and I look forward to evaluating the results and hearing the feedback from all those involved.”
The nine schools participating in the pilot are:
- Glenlola Collegiate, Bangor
- Friends’ School, Lisburn
- Hazelwood Integrated College, Belfast
- St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast
- St Joseph’s Boys’, Londonderry
- St Fanchea’s College, Enniskillen
- Larne High School
- Markethill High School
- St Ronan’s College, Lurgan