Unfortunately these have been the first jobs to be automated.

Stephen is as so often right.

How many jobs are there in the Black Country that are daytime, guaranteed hours, not physically strenuous and require level 3 or lower - and how do we get those employers to pick someone off UC rather than a job changer?

They did. The challenges was that the heads got people kicking off about it, so it gives the heads cover to say ‘it’s a national rule speak to the MP’. This is why unions have been supportive.

Why?

Yes, there’s a variety of options for this. We also have a lot more young people in primary schools now with diabetes monitors who don’t have phones on their person so they get used to it being a thing they go and ask an adult for access to.

We will have new data in the autumn so we will know for sure by then.

(Most do some version of ‘off and away’, 18% use pouches)

It’s rare. The last time we surveyed on this, in Sept 2025, just 5% banned completely.

Or you just take them when you see them. Both work with the policy.

Most school leaders do, as we’ve all worked with them and some of us have been them - and before such children had phones. Which is why we know the systems for making it work and have considered how to balance communication needs with a child’s right to an education.

Yes, lots are using pouches. Ultimately no one will know if it’s on your person on way in/out as long as no one sees it.

Well there’s two schools of thought on this. One is schools provide much more heavily locked down devices to all so apps for learning can be accessed during the day. Second is much less tech all round. To me, either preferable to own unequal and unfettered device access.

Sure, that’s a bit of a different issue though. (And banning phones likely to drive schools to think more about offline solutions).

No, reception can get the message to the child and take a message to go back if necessary. If help is needed more urgently then either the adult taking the call can support or calling someone else may be more appropriate.

This is dealt with by having the students access the phone via a nominated/location as needed.

On carers, all phones have receptions that can get a message to children.

There’s quite a lot of stuff allowed outside of school that’s not allowed within it (hungry hippos!) and homework apps can be accessed on a tablet/laptop.
It’s also worth remembering the policy isn’t: you can’t have a phone on way to or from school. It’s ‘you can’t access it while in school’.

Sounds great! I wanted a book like this when I started!

This probably means that councils are going to be run by amateurs, some enthusiastic, some well-meaning, some indifferent, some greedy, some completely unhinged for a couple of years. Sadly, I doubt it will be an improvement

Yes, and I have similar misgivings about this different issue.

I have similar misgivings about the Newham Independents who, by definition of being a political party, are not independent.

For the socials!!

You should put the website on it!

Made me giggle!

When people ask ‘why are things crap these days’, one of the genuine answers is lack of specialist journalists. They are the watchdogs of the powerful. Without them it’s much easier for bad behaviours to flourish.

Hanson’s MmmBop lyrics are profoundly serious when you realise it’s about the shortness of life. The first verse is especially brutal.

Also, a banging tune.

Your piece on this was excellent, I think about it often.

I do enjoy the line: “Unhappily, as pyramid has succeeded pyramid, they have developed a certain fussiness”.

The problem was that the country was in debt, loads of stuff had been bombed and there was a population explosion so they were like “whack it up now and we’ll improve it when we’ve time/money/a large workforce”

I *think* they weren’t planned to last that long. The glass and steel look ones remind me of the schools built in the 50s using tech/materials/talent that had built Anderson Shelters and they were only supposed to last 25 years. In practice many stayed longer, but lots of things were stop gaps.

Regional tsars who publish data on dashboards.

Slightly worried I’ve just invented RISE teams…