Guide
Phones in schools in Europe, country by country.
In three years, school phone bans have spread across Europe. Some are laws and some are guidance; some cover breaks and some only lessons. We list the rules country by country, as they stood on 4 November 2026, next to what the evidence says so far.
In short. Most of Europe now limits phones at school. Laws or decrees cover the whole school day in Sweden, Hungary, Austria up to grade 8, both parts of Belgium, Portugal up to grade 9, Poland’s primary schools and, since September 2026, all French schools up to the end of secondary. Others use guidance or agreements. Worldwide, UNESCO counted national bans in 58% of countries by March 2026. The evidence so far: fewer distractions in class, no clear change in grades or wellbeing.
Country by country
Status on 4 November 2026. “Law” includes decrees and regulations; “guidance” includes circulars, recommendations and agreements with schools.
| Country | The rule | Who it covers | Form | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Phones collected at the start of the school day, returned at the end | Pre-school class, compulsory school and after-school centres; not upper secondary | Law | August 2026 |
| France | No phones or connected devices at school or on school outings; each school’s rules set the exceptions | Nursery and primary schools, collèges and, since 1 September 2026, lycées | Law | 2018; lycées 2026 |
| Finland | No phones in lessons, except for learning with the teacher’s permission or for health | Grades 1 to 9 | Law | 1 August 2025 |
| Poland | No phones on school premises, breaks included; exceptions with a teacher’s or the head’s consent | Primary schools; secondary schools set their own rules | Law | 1 September 2026 |
| Hungary | Phones handed in at the start of the day and kept locked away | Primary and secondary schools | Government decree | 1 September 2024 |
| Austria | No phones or smartwatches for the whole time at school, breaks and outings included | Up to grade 8 | Ministerial regulation | 1 May 2025 |
| Belgium, Flanders | No smartphones, smartwatches or other smart devices at school; in the last two years of secondary, only in lessons | Primary and secondary | Decree | 1 September 2025 |
| Belgium, Wallonia-Brussels | No phones or connected devices at school, breaks and outings included, except for teaching | Nursery, primary and secondary | Decree | 25 August 2025 |
| Portugal | No smartphones or other internet devices on school premises; basic phones without internet are not covered | Grades 1 to 9 | Decree-law | 2025; grades 7 to 9 in 2026 |
| Greece | Secondary: no phone visible or used anywhere at school; primary: no use | Primary and secondary | Ministerial decision and circular | Secondary 2024 |
| Italy | No phones in class, even for teaching; in upper secondary, for the whole school day | All levels, with exceptions for special needs | Ministerial circulars | 2024; upper secondary 2025 |
| Netherlands | No phones, tablets or smartwatches in class, unless needed for the lesson or for health | Secondary, then primary | National agreement | 1 January 2024; primary 2024–25 |
| Spain | A national minimum: no phones in primary school; in secondary, only for teaching. The regions make the binding rules | All levels | Agreement with the regions | January 2024 |
| Ireland | Primary: no access to phones all day; post-primary: use restricted | Primary and post-primary | Department circulars | Issued June 2025 |
| Norway | Strict limits: lessons and breaks up to grade 7; lessons and, as a main rule, breaks in grades 8 to 10; teaching time in upper secondary | All levels, through school rules | Recommendation | February 2024 |
| Germany | Each state decides; in an April 2026 survey by the epd news agency, 8 of 16 states banned phones wholly or partly | Varies by state | State law or guidance | Varies |
| Denmark | No national rule: schools set their own. A national ban was proposed in September 2026 | Proposal: public and free primary schools | Proposal | Not in force |
| England | Phone-free school day: no phones in lessons, between lessons, at break or at lunch | All schools; sixth formers may get limited access | Statutory guidance | 1 September 2026 |
Almost every rule has exceptions for pupils with a disability or a medical need, such as a glucose monitor on the phone. The Netherlands plans to go further from 1 January 2027, with phones at home or in a locker for the whole school day, again by agreement rather than law.
How fast it spread
UNESCO’s education report counted national phone bans in schools in 24% of countries in June 2023, 40% in early 2025 and 58%, or 114 education systems, by March 2026. That count came before Sweden’s and Poland’s laws, France’s extension to lycées and England’s guidance.
What the evidence says
- Distraction is common. In PISA 2022, 30% of 15-year-olds across OECD countries said they get distracted using digital devices in most or every maths lesson, and 25% that they get distracted by classmates using them. Students distracted by others’ devices in at least some lessons scored 15 points lower in maths, after accounting for their background.
- Bans reduce distraction, if enforced. The OECD concluded from PISA 2022 that bans appear to reduce distractions in class, especially when enforced: in schools with a ban, 29% of students still said they used a smartphone several times a day at school.
- No clear change in scores yet. By PISA 2025, almost half of students (49.5%) were in schools that ban phones, up from 34% in 2022. Peers distracted in most or every science lesson: 27% of students in schools with a ban, 32% with no policy. But changes in bans since 2022 were not linked to changes in average science or reading scores, and the OECD notes that its data cannot show cause and effect.
- No clear change in wellbeing. A study of 1,227 pupils aged 12 to 15 in 30 English secondary schools found that pupils in schools that restrict phones used them about 40 minutes less during the school day, and social media about 30 minutes less, but it found no difference in mental wellbeing, or in use over the whole day.
So far, then: calmer lessons, and no proof yet of better grades or happier pupils. Bans are new, and the studies are snapshots. The wider debate about phones and teenagers: The Anxious Generation.
What it means for families
- Check the school’s own rules: they decide where the phone goes, and what happens if it comes out.
- For the way to school, some families choose a basic phone; Portugal’s rule, for one, covers only phones with internet. What official bodies advise on the age: a first phone.
- Smartwatches and other smart devices are often covered too: Flanders bans smart devices of every kind, and the Netherlands and Austria name smartwatches.
- The evening matters as much as the classroom: the phone before bed, and the age rules for social media in social media age limits in Europe.
Where we stand
Lychnos Ring is made for adults, not for school; rules that ban smart devices in class would cover a ring too. For grown-ups who want the phone out of reach more often, it answers the small things from your finger. It is in development.
Sources
Read on 4 November 2026. Sweden, Government Offices, 17 August 2026; France, Code de l’éducation, article L511-5; Finland, Finnish National Agency for Education; Poland, Journal of Laws 2026, item 1036; Hungary, Government Decree 245/2024; Austria, Federal Ministry of Education; Flanders, Vlaanderen.be; Wallonia-Brussels, decree of 13 March 2025; Portugal, Government of Portugal and Decree-Law 176/2026; Greece, Ministry of Education decision, 2024; Italy, Ministry of Education circular 3392, 2025; Netherlands, Rijksoverheid; Spain, La Moncloa, 31 January 2024; Ireland, circular 0044/2025 (INTO copy); Norway, Directorate for Education; Germany, epd via evangelisch.de; Denmark, Sjællandske, 10 September 2026; England, Department for Education guidance. Evidence: UNESCO GEM Report, phone bans in schools are spreading, updated 18 September 2026; OECD, PISA 2022 Results, Volume II and PISA 2025 Results, Volume I; Goodyear et al., SMART Schools, The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 2025. Rules change; we update this page. General information, not legal advice.
Questions
Which European countries ban phones in schools?
By law, decree or regulation, among others: France, Sweden, Finland (in lessons), Poland (primary schools), Hungary, Austria (up to grade 8), both of Belgium's communities, Portugal (up to grade 9) and Greece. Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Norway act through circulars, agreements or guidance. In Germany each state decides, and Denmark has a proposal.
Do phone bans in schools improve grades or wellbeing?
Not clearly, so far. In PISA 2025, students in schools with bans reported fewer distractions in class, but changes in bans since 2022 were not linked to changes in average scores. A 2025 study of 30 English schools found less phone use during the school day where phones were restricted, but no difference in wellbeing.