Gillian Keegan defends new guidance to 'ban' mobile phones in schoolsGMB/ITV
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00:00 Teachers have bigger problems on their hands.
00:03 They don't need you repeating guidance ad nauseam
00:07 on something they can already do.
00:09 Just to be clear, Susanna, we're not repeating guidance.
00:13 The guidance, this will be the first time we've issued guidance,
00:16 but we do know that many schools do have mobile phone bans in place,
00:20 but they're not consistent and they are allowing phone use
00:23 in break times, in lunch times, etc.
00:26 So it is a change and it is empowering.
00:28 And I asked headteachers, you know, I'm here to help headteachers,
00:31 not to do things that don't make a difference to them.
00:34 But you're not instructing headteachers, are you?
00:36 And I asked them, would this empower them?
00:37 And they said this would empower them.
00:39 We expect schools to follow our guidance.
00:41 We issue a lot of guidance and we expect schools to follow our guidance.
00:44 And they do follow our guidance. We know that they do.
00:46 And if they don't? In terms of other things that are ongoing...
00:49 If they don't ban phones at schools, what happens to them?
00:51 They do...
00:52 They do follow our guidance.
00:56 In fact, they wait for our guidance because it empowers them.