What Ghent University’s Study Found About the Flemish School Phone Ban

A school phone ban can keep phones out of students’ hands during the school day without reducing how much they use them overall. In Ghent University’s surveys of roughly 3,500 pupils in 20 Flemish secondary schools, in-school use fell after the restriction, while reported total use stayed similar as pupils made up time at home. The early findings show fewer phones at school—not clear evidence of broader benefits yet. 181920

What the Flemish study found

Researchers surveyed pupils before and after the smartphone restriction. Students reported using their phones less at school, including during breaks, but the reported decrease did not translate into less total phone use: use shifted to after school instead. 181920

The rule was not followed by everyone all the time. About 62% of pupils said they sometimes used their phones covertly, according to reporting on the study. 18

Well-being, studying and cyberbullying: benefits remain unclear

The early reporting on the findings says several expected positive effects of the ban have not clearly materialized. That includes improvements related to students’ well-being and studying, and a clear reduction in cyberbullying. 19

These results are an early snapshot, not proof that longer-term effects are impossible. The study compared pupil surveys from before and after the restriction; those results show what changed around the ban, but do not by themselves establish that the policy caused every change. 19

How the results compare with Yondr pouches

A separate US study examined lockable phone pouches, which restrict access to phones during school. It found that pouch adoption substantially reduced in-school phone activity. However, reporting on the study describes little evidence of near-term improvement in test scores, attendance or perceived online bullying; it also reports an increase in disciplinary incidents and a first-year dip in student well-being. 5811

That comparison points to a similar distinction: restrictions can reduce access to phones at school, but that does not automatically produce better academic or well-being outcomes. The US research concerns lockable pouches, not the same policy or student population as the Flemish surveys, and the study was reported as a working paper that had not yet been peer-reviewed. 511

Policy momentum is not the same as proof of impact

Phone restrictions and lockable pouches have become part of the school-policy debate in both the UK and the US. In the UK, reporting describes schools adopting pouches alongside disagreement over their cost and value. 3 US research likewise examines the spread of school phone restrictions, while reporting on results emphasizes that reduced in-school use has not consistently brought wider gains. 11

The available sources here do not provide comparable UK and US public-opinion figures, so policy adoption should not be treated as evidence of a shared level of public support.

The clearest conclusion is narrow but useful: school restrictions can reduce phone use during school hours. Whether they reduce total use or improve students’ well-being, studying or experience of cyberbullying is a separate question—and the evidence cited here does not yet show clear, consistent gains on those outcomes. 18511