Children across Beverley and Holderness are set to benefit after phones were banned in schools following sustained pressure from Graham and Conservative colleagues.
Just last week, Graham spoke in Parliament calling for a legal ban on smartphones during the school day and stronger action to protect children online.
Now, after months of resistance, the Government has accepted the case for action.
In his speech, Graham warned that smartphones were leaving “students scrolling, not learning, and staff policing, not teaching”.
He drew directly on local experience, highlighting the case of John, a Beverley parent whose children feel constant pressure to be online, and Hannah, a teacher in Hedon dealing daily with the impact in the classroom.
He told the House that parents were being left to fight this battle alone and that clear rules were needed to back them up.
Graham said:
“As I said last week, if we know this is harming children’s mental health and learning, we should act. I’m glad that action has now been taken.
“Parents across Beverley and Holderness are clear. The pressure on children to be online never stops, and it is affecting their confidence, their learning and their wellbeing.
“Banning smartphones in schools is the right step because classrooms should be places of learning. Now we need to go further and tackle harmful social media.
“This is about giving children their childhood back and giving teachers the chance to teach.
But it is also about the bigger picture. If we want young people to succeed, we need to get the basics right in school and make sure they have real opportunities afterwards.”
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said:
“This is a victory for parents, teachers and pupils.
“After months of pressure, the Government has finally acted to ban phones in schools.
“We know these devices are causing disruption in classrooms, affecting learning and putting pressure on teachers.
“This will mean fewer distractions, less disruption and more time focused on learning.
“It shows that sustained pressure can deliver real change, but we must now go further to protect children from harmful social media.”
The change follows months of campaigning, including Graham’s local Safe Online campaign:
https://www.grahamstuart.com/SafeOnline
Local survey work carried out by Graham shows strong support for action, with more than 8 in 10 parents backing restrictions on smartphones in schools and harmful social media.
Graham has long argued that protecting children online must go hand in hand with improving standards in education and expanding opportunities for young people locally.
Alongside this campaign, he has been pushing for fairer funding for special educational needs, better support for local schools, and stronger routes into work for young people in places like Beverley, Hedon and Withernsea.
