Phone ban in schools: Education Review Office urges ‘firm consequences’ to lift compliance

Schools are advised to have "firm consequences" around the phone ban, the Education Review Office said.

Student compliance with the Government’s ban on phones in schools is being deemed an “issue” by the Education Review Office, with only around half of secondary students following the rules.

A March 2026 Ministry of Education update to school leaders notes compliance is still only around 50% with the most common cause for rule-breaking being contact with parents or family.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said behaviour changes take time and the Government expects to see increasing compliance as not using phones at school gradually becomes the norm.

The school phone ban was part of the National Party’s education policy at the 2023 election and took effect in April 2024.

Education Review Office (ERO) findings reported that while removing mobile phones from classrooms had made an improvement on both learning and behaviour, compliance could be much higher.

Less than 40% of year 12 and 13 students followed the rules, according to the agency’s review of the policy.

Resources have been released to schools following the November probe into the phone ban.

A “good practice guide” was launched for teachers to help enforce the ban, with advice to have consistent rules and “firm consequences”.

“Schools that apply stronger consequences when students do not follow the rules see a higher level of compliance. Secondary students are twice as likely to follow the rules consistently when schools strictly monitor and enforce the rules,” ERO advice to educators read.

The ERO noted that when schools confiscated phones and informed parents and family of a rule breach, students were more likely to comply with the ban.

A “softer approach” was deemed less effective for senior students.

ERO advice also encouraged parents to decide how to communicate with their child without texting or calling, such as emailing their school account or delivering important messages via the school’s office.

Education Review Office chief review officer Ruth Shinoda told Newstalk ZB the agency had asked the Ministry of Education to work with it and get the advice in the hands of schools and parents.

Shinoda said consistent rules with firm priorities worked best for schools.

“Actually just warning students doesn’t lead to a change of behaviour. It’s actually confiscating the phone, notifying parents, telling them a student has broken the rules – that works.”

In Years 7 and 8, compliance was high at roughly 93%, but the ERO wanted to improve compliance in secondary schools.

“Schools are doing a great job, but students have got a lot further to go to be compliant.”

Shinoda said parents were “absolutely critical” to improving compliance, as students were more likely to break the rules if the parents themselves did not support them.

Stanford said in a short timeframe, the ban had brought about significant positive changes in classrooms, including “supporting learning and reducing bullying significantly”.

“ERO recently reported that 78% of teachers say the ban is helping students focus on schoolwork better and is improving classroom behaviour. Around 65% of teachers and leaders report a reduction in bullying.”

Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.