Cheshire high school students to be first in UK to have phones locked away in £150k plan
By The Editor 7th Nov 2025
Mobile phones will be locked away during the school day in every state high school in Cheshire, as part of a new initiative led by Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Dan Price.
Dan Price wants Cheshire to be the first county in the UK where ALL state high schools have lockable phone pouches, and he i's backing it with a funding plan of up to £150k.
Only nine of the county's mainstream high schools have introduced lockable phone pouches. While many schools have 'out of sight' mobile bans, these are often ineffective or problematic to enforce.
Schools with lockable pouches are seeing immediate, widespread, positive results in wellbeing and a dramatic reduction in online safeguarding incidents - one quoting an 80 per cent reduction in these.
They say behaviour is better, concentration is up and one school has seen a fivefold increase in library usage since introducing pouches, as well as a surge in interest in enrichment activities.
In October 2025, Cheshire mum Esther Ghey, whose daughter Brianna was murdered in 2023, launched a national Phone Free Education campaign in parliament. Dan Price believes Cheshire can lead in this space by being the first county in the UK to make it happen.
PCC Dan Price said: "From a crime prevention perspective, this is an absolute no-brainer. Less online bullying, less access to potentially harmful or violent content, less distractions, less exclusions. In Cheshire of all places, we know the impact this can have. That's why we must make this happen here."
On Friday 7 November, Cheshire PCC, Dan Price, launched plans to set aside up to £150k over two years to support schools in Cheshire to adopt phone pouches. This will target funding to those in receipt of free school meals, if their schools can find a way to fund the remaining amount.
This will not cover all of the funding they need. Matched funding from other public and philanthropic funds could further accelerate this plan to make sure all state high schools operate an effective phone-free solution by 2026.
With a conservative cost of £8.75 per pupil (and likely to reduce further by pooling procurement), the PCC hopes that a county-wide approach may offer significant savings.
Esther Ghey said: "I urge every school in Cheshire to take advantage of this amazing initiative. Dan Price is absolutely leading the way, showing real commitment to improving young people's wellbeing and safety.
"Lockable phone pouches are a simple step towards creating safer and more focused classrooms. I truly hope other Police and Crime Commissioners across the country follow his lead."
As well as funding, schools who participate will receive support from this initiative in the form of information materials for parents and pupils, implementation plans and expertise from those schools that have already rolled out pouches.
Responding to a new scheme Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at school leaders' union NAHT, said: "NAHT supports a ban on the use of mobile phones during the school day by pupils and we therefore welcome this initiative.
"While phones and the online world clearly offer benefits, there is a time and place for their use. As well as the safety issues which can arise, they can be an unhelpful distraction during the school day.
"Many schools already have restrictions on phones, but it is really positive that this scheme recognises that financial support is often needed to help ensure these are truly effective."
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