The new independent school behaviour adviser for Northern Ireland has said that phone pouches are a “very expensive” way of enforcing a no-phone policy in schools, despite the Education Minister previously allocating £250,000 for a pilot scheme.
Tom Bennett, a leading behaviour management expert, has been appointed by Paul Givan to provide independent advice and help develop new evidence-based guidance for schools, drawing on international best practice.
Before entering education, Mr Bennett ran nightclubs in Soho. He later became a teacher and has spent the past 15 years working in behaviour policy and advisory roles, describing the appointment as a privilege.
Speaking to The Irish News, Mr Bennett said mobile phones should be banned in schools because they contribute to distraction and antisocial behaviour.
He said: “Phones are weapons of massive distraction. There’s a burgeoning mountain of evidence to suggest that smartphones are hugely damaging to a child’s progress in school. We want children to be physically and mentally present in schools.”
Mr Bennett said schools should be free to choose how they enforce phone bans, arguing that pouches can be useful but should not be the mandatory method due to their cost.
“Some schools go with lockers, and some schools go with pouches. I think that’s okay… they can be helpful, I just don’t think it should be mandatory that it’s only pouches. Simply because they are very expensive.
“Just ban them, an out-of-sight turned off policy, and confiscate any on sight. It works well if your staff are well trained and supported. If staff don’t think you’re going to support them, they’ll stop doing it.
“The school needs to have a clear behaviour policy on phones and what teachers are expected to do. But you can’t just tell them, you have to train them and do role plays.
“We’re talking about practice here, not perfect. Create an expectation for staff. If you see one, you take it off them. Maybe you won’t get it back ‘til the end of the week or an adult has to come to collect it, it needs to be more inconvenient. You need to create friction between that behaviour and the outcome. And that friction is usually removal.”
While acknowledging it would be impossible to eliminate phone use entirely, particularly in areas such as school toilets, Mr Bennett said the aim should be to minimise it.
“Speed cameras don’t stop speeding, they minimise speeding, and that’s what you can hope for,” he said.
“There’s no reason why we should give in and roll over when we can win it so easily by saying no to mobile phones.”
Mr Bennett also stressed schools need clearer expectations, saying teachers are often expected to act as “medical workers, psychologists and detectives”.
He added: “There has been a reported increase in antisocial behaviour in schools. I’ve already met with representatives of all the major unions in Northern Ireland. What was remarkable was the consensus among them that the issue was not a lack of will, but a need for clearer expectations and how they should respond to situations. The schools I’ve seen in Northern Ireland already, they bend over backwards to try to do their best.”
Over the next six months, Mr Bennet will gather information from schools across the region. During June and July, he will be reviewing documents and engaging with stakeholders.
From September, he will visit schools to speak with staff working directly with children.
In October and November, he will analyse the evidence and feedback collected before drafting guidance, which is due to be published in early 2027.
