Giving Compass' Take:

· Across the UK, phones are seen as a tool for bullying and a distraction for students in class. BBC News reports the controversy of phones in school and the challenges faced with smartphones in youth development and everyday life. 

· Are phones a useful tool for students to use in class? Do they provide any advantage for students?

· Read about empowering teachers in the digital age. 

Schools should ban mobile phones from the classroom, the culture secretary has said.

Matt Hancock, writing in the Telegraph, said he admired schools who did not allow them, adding that more heads should "follow their lead".

In a letter to the same paper, a group of Conservative MPs said mobiles should be confiscated at the school gates.

At the moment, schools are free to set their own rules. So what are the options?

No phones here

Michaela Community School in Wembley has implemented a blanket ban - if a phone is seen or heard, it will be confiscated.

Head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh says: "We believe strongly that children should not have phones in school. We think they are extremely distracting for children and they interrupt their concentration, they interrupt their ability to think."

Read the full article about phones in schools by Katie Wright at BBC News.