The BaseHearingUK House of Commons
Mobile Phones in Schools
In a Commons statement, Education Under-Secretary Josh MacAlister announced tougher mobile phone guidance from September 2027 and a consultation on independent safety certification of education technology. MPs from several parties used the questions to press on AI tutors, homework and generative AI in classrooms.
Why it matters
The same thing, for different readers.
What it means for you
UK Education Under-Secretary Josh MacAlister says pupils' phones must be out of reach all school day from September 2027, and that AI classroom tools should be tested first.
For lawmakers
The UK government is consulting on safety certification for edtech, and plans Education Endowment Foundation-led trials of AI tools before any wide rollout.
For researchers
UK schools minister Josh MacAlister says AI tutor trials must show effects on cognitive development and attainment before widespread use, so learning outcomes would gate deployment in England.
The question it raises
Several UK MPs ask whether children's cognitive development should be protected from AI the way phones now are, and MacAlister says Parliament will have to return to the question.
In their own words
Every quotation was found, word for word, in the text we saved from the source. That shows the words are there; it does not make them true, or prove the speaker meant them as quoted.
From the publisher’s own transcript.
“Today, we are launching a public consultation on establishing independent safety certification of education technology, or edtech, in schools, colleges and early years settings in England.”
“It is entirely right to suggest that there should be no widespread deployment of this technology before we know its full effects on cognitive development.”
“How is the review consistent with rolling out unevidenced AI tutors for the most disadvantaged? Those are the very pupils who need evidence-led, teacher-led support.”
“In fact, in many ways homework has already been highly disrupted by the use of generative AI tools. The issue for school leaders and teachers is ensuring there are methods of assessment and pushing learning that have grit and friction.”
“the growth of generative AI is threatening to tread on children’s learning in the same way that smartphones did; just as we did with smartphones, we should not treat that as inevitable or unavoidable.”
The record
- Questions
- How is AI changing childhood, health and daily life? · Who can demand evidence, delay a release or stop an unsafe deployment?
- People
- Josh MacAlister (Speaks, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education) · Laura Trott (Speaks, Shadow Secretary of State) · Alistair Strathern (Speaks)
- What we read
- We read the whole source.
- Found by
- The Radar, run of November 11, 2026, via
uk-house-of-commons-hansard(tier 1: the source’s own channel or an official record) - Cite this
- UK House of Commons, “Mobile Phones in Schools”, November 10, 2026. Entry in the Ctrl AI Base, https://ctrlai.com/base/uk-commons-2026-11-10-phones-schools-edtech-ai