Mobile phones will be locked away during the school day in every state high school in Cheshire, as part of a new initiative led by Cheshire police and crime commissioner Dan Price.
Mr Price wants Cheshire to be the first county in the UK where all state high schools have lockable phone pouches—and he’s backing it with a funding plan of up to £150,000.
Only nine of the county’s mainstream high schools have introduced lockable phone pouches. While many schools have “out of sight” mobile bans, these are often ineffective or problematic to enforce, Mr Price said.
But he said that schools with lockable pouches were seeing “immediate, widespread, positive results” in well-being and a dramatic reduction in online safeguarding incidents, with one school reporting an 80% reduction in such incidents.
He said: “Behaviour is better, concentration is up, and one school has seen a fivefold increase in library usage since introducing pouches, as well as a surge in interest in enrichment activities.”
In October, Cheshire mother Esther Ghey, whose daughter Brianna was murdered in 2023, launched a national Phone-Free Education campaign in Parliament, and Mr Price believes Cheshire can lead by being the first county in the UK to make it happen.
He said: “From a crime prevention perspective, this is an absolute no-brainer.
“Reduced online bullying, limited access to potentially harmful or violent content, fewer distractions and fewer exclusions. In Cheshire especially, we know the impact this can have. That’s why we must make this happen here.”
On Friday, Mr Price launched plans to set aside up to £150,000 over two years to support schools in Cheshire to adopt phone pouches. This will target funding to those in receipt of free school meals, if their schools can find a way to fund the remaining amount.
Matched funding from other public and philanthropic funds could further accelerate this plan to make sure all state high schools operate an effective phone-free solution by 2026.
With a conservative cost of £8.75 per pupil (and likely to reduce further by pooling procurement), the commissioner said he hoped that a county-wide approach could offer significant savings.
Ms Ghey said: “I urge every school in Cheshire to take advantage of this amazing initiative. Dan Price is absolutely leading the way, showing real commitment to improving young people’s well-being and safety. Lockable phone pouches are a simple step towards creating safer and more focused classrooms. I truly hope other police and crime commissioners across the country follow his lead.”
As well as funding, schools who participate will receive support from this initiative in the form of information materials for parents and pupils, implementation plans, and expertise from those schools that have already rolled out pouches.
Facts
• 79% of UK schools operate the lowest form of mobile phone ban.
• 3.5% of schools ban phones being brought to school outright.
• 7.9% of schools ask students to leave their phones in a secure place.
• One in five teenagers say they are disturbed in lessons by phones.
• 13% of children aged 11–15 say their school never confiscates phones — even if pupils break the rules.
• Exclusion rates in schools with pouches are falling as the addictive nature of smartphones is broken during the school day.
