Despite pressure from campaign groups, the prime minister's office has now said there are no plans to prohibit smartphones in schools because headteachers “already have the power to ban phones".  A Whitehall source told The Times: “You don’t want to do something which then either pushes back the Online Safety Act or doesn’t interact with it in a sensible way." The news follows the National Parent Survey's finding that one in seven children now spend over seven hours a day on electronic devices—more time than they spend in school. By Mark Sellman, James Beal and Steven Swinford. 

Bridget Phillipson has called “for a bit of patience” as the government considers how best to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. Insisting she wants to help mainstream schools run their own special needs provision, the education secretary told a webinar yesterday that ministers are “serious” about reform but there’s “not a silver bullet here”. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week. 

Fines are failing to deter parents from taking their children on holiday during term time, a report by Parentkind has found. The majority (57 per cent) of those who responded to the charity's annual survey said school fines would not act as a deterrent, even though the penalties recently increased from £60 to £80 as part of government efforts to improve worsening attendance. By Poppy Wood, The Telegraph.

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