Phone pouches for schools: how they compare with lockers, hand-in and apps
The DfE’s ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, statutory since 29 June 2026, asks schools in England to prohibit phone use throughout the school day. It leaves the method to headteachers. If you are deciding between locking pouches, lockers, handing phones in, an out-of-sight rule or an app, this is how they compare.
The options at a glance
| Approach | How it works | Strengths | Things to plan for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out of sight, switched off | Pupils keep phones switched off in their bags all day. | No cost. Simple to explain. | Relies on every pupil complying. Hard to show it works. One visible phone can undermine it. |
| Handing phones in | Staff collect phones at the start of the day and return them at the end. | Phones are fully out of use. Pupils have them for the journey. | Staff time twice a day. Secure storage. Responsibility for valuable devices. |
| Lockers | Pupils store phones in a locker for the day. | Phones are fully out of use. Pupils have them for the journey. | Space, installation and maintenance. Queues at busy times. Lost keys or codes. |
| Locking pouches | Pupils keep their phone in a sealed pouch, which is opened at an unlocking point at the end of the day. | The phone stays with the pupil but cannot be used. | Cost per pouch, plus replacements. A daily unlocking routine. Damaged, lost or forgotten pouches. |
| An app on the phone, such as Novi | Distracting apps, websites and cameras are blocked on the pupil’s own phone during the school day. | No hardware to buy or store. Calls and agreed essential apps stay available. Staff can see who is in focus mode and share a record. | Every pupil needs the app installed and set up. Works best alongside an out-of-sight rule. |
Physical approaches all face the same question: what happens when a pupil brings a second phone? It is worth deciding how your policy handles that before you buy anything.
Questions to ask before you choose
- What is the full cost per pupil per year? Include replacements, installation, storage and staff time, not just the headline price.
- How long will the start and end of the day take? Collection, unlocking and queues add up across a whole year group.
- How will you handle individual needs? The guidance requires reasonable adjustments, for example for a pupil whose glucose monitor is linked to their phone, and expects flexibility for some young carers. Decide how the method allows a specific purpose, time and place.
- What about the journey to and from school? The guidance asks schools to consider pupils travelling to and from school, and many parents will ask about it.
- How will you know it is working? Governors, parents and inspectors will want to see the policy followed in practice, not just written down.
- What happens in an emergency? Decide how pupils contact home and how parents reach pupils, normally through the school office.
When pouches or lockers make sense, and when an app helps
Pouches, lockers and handing phones in physically separate pupils from their phones, which some schools prefer, especially where phone use has caused serious behaviour or safeguarding problems.
An app suits schools that want pupils to keep their phones for the journey, need flexibility for individual needs without exempting pupils from the whole policy, or want a record of how the policy is followed without extra hardware. The approaches can also be combined, for example an out-of-sight rule backed by an app, so a phone that comes out of a bag is still locked.
How Novi works
- Staff set up the school on the Novi dashboard and invite students.
- Students install Novi on their own phones. Students who need essential apps are set up so those apps stay available.
- Focus mode starts automatically at the start of the school day, blocking distracting apps, websites and cameras. Calls still work.
- Teachers can see who is in focus mode, and the dashboard produces a phone-free school report you can share.
Read more about how Novi works or see the FAQs.
Sources
- Mobile phones in schools, Department for Education, statutory guidance updated 29 June 2026.
- Mobile phones in schools: the 2026 statutory guidance, explained, Novi.