Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing

Education Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 8 Sep 2023 Closed: 27 May 2024 Parliament page
The Education Committee will assess how screentime can support and impact children’s development, wellbeing and educational outcomes. The Committee will also examine the effectiveness of digital safety education in schools and the ways in which schools and parents can be better supported to manage children’s screen usage. The inquiry will … Read more
17 Recommendations
15 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
4 Events
Activity timeline 10 events
22 May
2025
Report published
25 May
2024
Report published
12 Mar
2024
Oral evidence
12 Mar
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
20 Feb
2024
Oral evidence
20 Feb
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
9 Jan
2024
Oral evidence
9 Jan
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
21 Nov
2023
Oral evidence
21 Nov
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
12 Mar 2024
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Panel 1; Panel 2
Charlotte Briscall · Department for Education Kate Dixon · Department for Education Mark Bunting · Ofcom Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP · Department for Education Yih-Choung Teh · Ofcom
20 Feb 2024
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Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
Dame Rachel de Souza · Office of the Children's Commissioner for England David Wright · The UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) Ian Critchley · National Police Chiefs’ Council Jessica Edwards · Barnardo’s
9 Jan 2024
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Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
Darren Northcott · NASUWT The Teachers' Union Elizabeth Anderson · Learning Foundation and the Digital Poverty Alliance John McGee · BBC Education Jonathan Baggaley · PSHE Association The Baroness Kidron OBE · 5Rights Foundation
21 Nov 2023
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Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
Carolyn Bunting MBE · Internet Matters Dr Amy Orben · University of Cambridge Dr Bernadka Dubicka · Hull and York Medical School, University of York Rafe Clayton · University of Leeds Vicki Shotbolt · Parent Zone
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing HC 118 25 May 2024 32 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
Clear
6 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Implement formal monitoring of school mobile phone ban; publish results for statutory assessment.
The next Government should implement a formal monitoring mechanism to measure both the implementation and effects of the mobile phone ban. The results of this monitoring phase should be published and shared with schools. If results show that a non-statutory … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on improving the evidence base for EdTech products, developing AI safety expectations, and the digital literacy curriculum, rather than addressing the recommendation to implement a formal monitoring mechanism for the mobile phone ban.
Department for Education
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7 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Flexibility within mobile phone ban guidance, including exemptions for needs, is welcomed.
We welcome the flexibility within the mobile phone ban guidance which allows schools to choose a process for implementation most suitable for them and the inclusion of exemptions for children with particular needs. (Paragraph 44) 48 Screen time: impacts on … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on the existing RSHE curriculum, online safety guidance, and ongoing reviews of RSHE and the broader curriculum to embed digital literacy, rather than directly addressing the committee's welcome of flexibility in mobile phone ban guidance.
Department for Education
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10 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Produce cross-departmental guidance for parents on managing children's screen time and device use.
The next Government should work across departments including DHSC, DSIT, Education and the Home Office to produce guidance for parents on how to best manage and understand the impact of screen time on their children. A common sense approach would … Read more
Government Response
The government deflects the recommendation for parental guidance on screen time by focusing entirely on the implementation of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom's role in regulating online services, and measures to protect children from harmful content and criminal behaviour online.
Department for Education
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13 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Commission guidance and establish a kitemarking scheme for online educational apps and websites.
The next Government must commission guidance for parents and schools on the educational value of purported educational websites and apps within a year. They should also support a kitemarking scheme for educational resources found online in the first year of … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected, stating it is building evidence on online impacts and that Ofcom will report on app stores and age assurance regarding harmful content, but did not commit to commissioning guidance or supporting a kitemarking scheme for educational value.
Department for Education
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14 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Inadequate digital literacy curriculum structure and teacher support negatively impact children's skills.
We welcome the inclusion of digital literacy in the curriculum. However, the curriculum is not structured well enough to keep children safe online. Digital literacy is split across numerous subjects with different focuses and teachers. Teachers must grapple with a … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms that guidance and support for digital literacy and online safety are being addressed, citing existing DfE guidance. It also states that further actions regarding online safety content will be determined after the ongoing RSHE review and a new independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which aims to embed digital skills.
Department for Education
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15 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Provide additional training and embed online safety content for all teachers on digital literacy.
The next Government must provide additional training and support for teachers delivering the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum, particularly digital literacy. The next Government should embed additional core content on online safety into the information and communication technology … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected by discussing legislative proposals for AI systems and an ICO Code of Practice on AI and children's data, without addressing the specific recommendation for additional teacher training in PSHE and digital literacy or embedding online safety into ICT training.
Department for Education
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16 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Consolidate digital safety guidance for teachers and invest in subject knowledge enhancement courses.
The next Government should consolidate non-statutory guidance on digital safety and curriculum content to provide a clear guide for teachers which should be complementary to Keeping Children Safe in School. Once this consolidation is complete the Department should invest in … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected by detailing DfE's funding for Ofsted's insights on AI use and its published advice for schools on mitigating Generative AI risks, but did not commit to consolidating all non-statutory digital safety guidance or investing in subject knowledge enhancement courses for teachers.
Department for Education
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17 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Ofsted's current personal development metric inadequately evaluates broad PSHE curriculum content.
We welcome inspections of PSHE as part of a routine Ofsted inspection. However, a subject as broad as PSHE, which covers so many different topics including digital literacy, cannot be adequately evaluated solely within the current personal development metric. Read more
Government Response
The government deflected, discussing its support services for technology use in schools and general safeguarding efforts, but did not address the committee's concern that PSHE, including digital literacy, cannot be adequately evaluated solely within Ofsted's personal development metric.
Department for Education
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18 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Change Ofsted's PSHE evaluation to thematic reviews, not just personal development metrics.
Ofsted must change the way in which PSHE is evaluated during inspection. Instead of being assessed through Ofsted’s personal development metric, PSHE should be assessed through thematic reviews in the same way as other core curriculum subjects. (Paragraph 83) Online … Read more
Government Response
The government states that Ofsted, as an independent inspectorate, is responsible for its inspection framework and already evaluates PSHE within the personal development judgement, noting that Ofsted is considering responses to a revised framework consultation.
Department for Education
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21 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Implement robust age verification on social media platforms and urgently debate digital age of consent.
Although we welcome attempts by Ofcom to make platforms safer for children who use them, it is clear that the entire system surrounding the digital age of consent and how it is verified is not fit for purpose. Until there … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of protecting children's personal data and will keep the area under review, stating it will give further consideration to the committee’s recommendation for a consultation on the digital age of consent.
Department for Education
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22 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Launch cross-government consultation on raising the digital age of consent to 16
The next Government must launch a consultation by the end of the year on whether 13 is a reasonable age of digital consent, or whether it should be raised. The next Government should recommend 16 as a more appropriate age. … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the current legal digital consent age of 13 and the importance of keeping this area under review. It states it will give further consideration to the committee's recommendation to launch a consultation by the end of the year on raising the age of digital consent to 16, but does not commit to it.
Department for Education
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25 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Consult on additional smartphone measures for children under 16, including bans and controls
The next Government should work alongside Ofcom to consult on additional measures regarding smartphones for children under 16 years old within the first year of the new Parliament. Measures to consider should include the total ban of smartphones (internet-enabled phones) … Read more
Government Response
The government states there is currently a lack of evidence to support a smartphone ban for under 16s and is building evidence on the matter. It defers to Ofcom's upcoming report under the Online Safety Act, which will assess app stores and age assurance, rather than committing to its own consultation on all additional measures.
Department for Education
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27 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Screen time: impac…
Increased AI tool use by children exposes them to new unregulated online harms
There has been a huge increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in recent years by children. This leaves users at risk of encountering new types of online harms facilitated by the use of AI. Despite this, there … Read more
Government Response
The government explains that AI systems will primarily be regulated at the point of use by existing regulators, while also developing targeted legislative proposals for powerful AI systems. It commits to requiring the ICO to produce a Code of Practice on AI, including guidance for children, via secondary legislation after the Data (Use and Access) Bill receives Royal Assent.
Department for Education
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Government Response AI assessment · 32 of 17 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 13
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 1
Total 17 recs + 15 conclusions