A 17-year-old girl has become a claimant in a landmark legal action against the government, arguing that the failure to ban smartphones in schools is exposing children to horrific and traumatic content during the school day.
‘Videos Were Going Around All The Time’
Flossie McShea, from Devon, recalls her secondary school experience from Year 7 onwards being marred by unsolicited videos and images airdropped or shown on peers' screens. She states she was exposed to pornography, a video of a shooting, and a beheading.
"My parents were strict at home but at school people can airdrop you videos or show you their screen without invitation, to see your reaction," McShea explained. Despite her school having a 'see it, hear it, lose it' policy, she said enforcement was impossible, with phone use rampant under desks, in toilets, and on school buses.
The most distressing incident involved a video of a young child accidentally shooting and killing another. "I had to go home early that day. I was so shocked I couldn't sleep. I still think about that video three years later," she revealed.
Legal Challenge and Parental Concerns
The judicial review against Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was first notified in July by Will Orr-Ewing and Pete Montgomery. They contend that current government guidance, which allows headteachers to set their own smartphone policies, is unlawful and unsafe for children.
This legal argument is supported by data showing that 79% of secondary schools follow this government-recommended policy, which the claimants' lawyers say demonstrably does not work.
Katie Moore, a 43-year-old mother from Northampton, has also joined the case as a claimant. Her 18-year-old daughter confided that she had been shown unsolicited explicit images ('dick pics') in school changing rooms, anime porn in WhatsApp groups, and had been exposed to men masturbating on the video chatroom Omegle, accessed by another student during a Year 9 form period.
"As a mum I can try my best to protect my children at home, yet they can go to school and be exposed to explicit harmful material on another student's smartphone," Moore said. "Until smartphones are prohibited items, we have no reassurance that this sort of thing won't happen to our children during the school day."
A Call for National Action
James Gardner of Conrathe Gardner LLP, the firm representing the claimants, accused the government of ignoring a critical safeguarding issue. "The government is well aware of the serious harms caused to children as a result of smartphones in school settings," he stated.
He further argued that the government had a "golden opportunity to put it right with a national ban" when it issued new safeguarding guidance this autumn but chose to ignore the problem, thereby putting children in harm's way.
The case includes witness testimony from child protection specialist and former social worker, Dr Ciarán Murphy, and points to a range of serious safeguarding incidents that are now commonplace in and around schools.
