Some school pupils will not have access to their phones for the entire school day as lockable pouches are made compulsory. 

Firth Park Academy in Shiregreen made Yondr phone pouches compulsory this week in a bid to crack down on students’ phone usage.

Children keep the pouches with them all day, locking their phones away at the beginning of the day, and only being able to get them out at an unlocking base.

An increasing number of schools are starting to ban phones entirely, with Forge Valley school on Wood Lane banning bringing phones into the school in September.

Firth Park Academy said that the new phone pouches are “so that our students can focus on their learning and on developing relationships with their peers face to face.”

Some parents have concerns about the complete banning of phones, since it means that if they want to contact their child, they will have to go through the school.

One parent, Leanne Bolsover, said: “I wasn’t happy as the school never asked me how I felt about it.” Ms Bolsover expressed her concern about not being able to reach her son, saying that he has had to call her several times after being locked in a changing room. 

Ms Bolsover said her daughter was told that if she didn’t bring her pouch in, a “teacher will have to scan her” to check for a phone.

A spokesperson for Firth Park Academy has denied all claims of scanning. 

Other parents also spoke of how they did not feel consulted, with one claiming that they were only told about the rule two or three days before it came into effect. 

If students do not agree to lock up their phones they risk being sent home, and parents will have to pay to replace a lost pouch.

The ban follows the school’s last Ofsted inspection in April, where they were again judged as ‘good.’