Call for 'brick-phone-only' secondaries to participate in King’s College London study

King’s College London are inviting schools to take part in a new study on smartphone free school policies.

The study is called the ‘Pouch Study’; it was initially designed to examine policies where smartphones are taken to school but locked away. However, they are now expanding their research to include schools with ‘brick’ phone only policies (also known to Smartphone Free Schools Rating as ‘Gold’ standard policies). In total, three categories of policy - also known as gold, silver and bronze - will now be analysed.

This is the first study of its kind to look at all three policy types, and could become an important landmark in differentiating between policies, with the potential to shape how smartphone free schools might look in the future.

Anecdotally, the impact of brick-phone-only policies reaches beyond the school day and causes a delay in smartphone ownership, amplifying the benefits to children. However, in order to quantify whether the different policies have different results, King’s College London are now looking for Gold standard schools to participate in the study.

What’s involved?

The study is being undertaken with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, led by Professor Ben Carter.

The study involves questionnaires being sent to students three times over the course of a year, and they each take around 15 minutes to fill in.

After the questionnaires, a small group of schools (not all) will be invited to focus groups, for the researchers to gain a more in-depth understanding of the issues.

The criteria for choosing participating schools is that they are a secondary school which already has a brick-only (gold) policy in place for one or more year groups, or is introducing one in January 2026.

This study is being funded by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.

How can my school get involved?

If you are a school leader and are interested in participating, or if you would like more information, contact Nancy Stuart-Bruges who is involved in the inclusion of Gold secondary schools: nancy.stuartbruges@gmail.com, or the Smartphone Free Schools Rating team at hello@smartphonefreerating.org.

Co-written with Nancy Stuart-Bruges, Childhood Advocate, Papaya Speaker and Smartphone Free Childhoold Regional Leader.

With thanks to King's College London.