Mobile Phone Pouches ( Published: 27/02/2026)

We will be making our school a phone-free space to improve teaching and learning and student wellbeing by using a secure lockable phone pouch system.

These systems have been implemented in thousands of schools across 35 countries to facilitate a focused and safer learning environment. Academy leaders have visited a number of schools where this system is implemented successfully and have found that learning, safeguarding and social behaviour improve drastically when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates.

The system utilises a simple, secure pouch that stores a phone. Every student will secure their phone in a personally assigned secure pouch when they arrive at school. Students will maintain possession of their phones and will not use them until their pouches are opened at the end of the school day. Students are required to bring their phone pouch to and from school each day and are responsible for their pouch at all times. Please watch the short video which explains how the pouches will work:

This is a significant change, and we appreciate your support in reinforcing this policy at home and discussing its benefits with your child. Together, we can create an environment that prioritises learning, wellbeing, and positive social interaction. We understand that mobile phones are important for safety and communication outside school hours. This policy ensures that students can still bring their phones to school but keeps them secure and inaccessible during learning time. As always, if there is an emergency and you would like to get in contact with your child, please contact reception on 0161 230 8039.

If your child refuses to follow school policy or is seen to be deliberately damaging their pouch, sanctions will be applied and a replacement pouch will be expected to be purchased by parents at a charge of £8.50.

Any student failing to comply with the daily practices around placing mobile phones into pouches will be placed into our Reset Room. Persistent defiance will lead to increased sanctions.

A recent survey of over 900 schools measured the effects of creating phone-free educational environments. These schools achieved notable progress in multiple areas:

65% of schools saw an improvement in academic performance
74% of schools saw an improvement in student behaviour
83% of schools saw an improvement in student engagement in the classroom
86% of schools saw a positive impact on student safety and wellness