Edinburgh schools will become mobile phone free after councillors voted to ban the devices during school hours.

The ban will come into effect from August.

The council has now banned mobile phones “from the start of the learning day until the end of the learning day” or from bell to bell.

Seven councillors from Labour, Lib Dem, and SNP groups voted to support the motion, with proposals put forward by Conservative and Green councillors falling.

A suggestion by the SNP group to allow young people to use their phones during break and lunchtime was approved in part but only for S5 and S6 pupils where senior leadership teams allow.

Lockable pouches will also be procured for every pupil in every school, following trials at Portobello and Queensferry High Schools. This is expected to cost around £400,000, and the sum was laid aside in the annual budget to cover the one-off cost.

However, the motion does allow exemptions to certain students who have certain health conditions, caring responsibilities, or are neurodivergent.

The Greens had called for an exemption for sixth-year students, and the Conservatives wanted the ban in place from the start to the end of the learning day.

Education committee convener, Cllr James Dalgleish, said: “This is a monumental step for Edinburgh’s children and young people and I am proud that we are one of the first local authorities in the country to introduce widespread restrictions on mobile phones in schools. I’ve been clear from the start that we wanted to be bold in our ambition to make our schools phone free environments that enable our teachers to teach and pupils to learn without the distraction of devices in the classroom.

“The uniform introduction of lockable pouches in all our secondary schools will level the playing field for all learners in Edinburgh, streamlining a phone free schools policy and guaranteeing that every single young person can get the most out of their time in the classroom.

“We know from the two pilots already underway that keeping phones out of the classroom is positive and alongside our consultation showing broad support from teachers, school staff and parents/carers, I am confident that these restrictions will be warmly welcomed and hugely impactful.”

Cllr Dalgleish later told The Edinburgh Reporter: “It can be very distracting in the classroom and again that builds into a relationship where teachers and pupils are often at odds, because teachers want mobile phones away rightly.

“It’s about welfare as well, about harmful content being in our schools which completely changes the way young people look at certain issues and can damage their health and wellbeing. So it’s really important that we get this in place as quickly as possible and the restrictions will come in place from August.”

City councillor and Edinburgh Northern MSP Sanne Dijkstra-Downie said: “Pupils, teachers and parents have all told us of the distraction and disruption that phones can cause in classrooms.

“I am glad that Edinburgh has taken this step forward.

“What it exposes however is how lead-footed the Scottish Government has been on this issue. We could have had national legislation in place rather than a piecemeal approach but ministers kept dragging their feet.

“To get Scottish education back to its best again, we now need to see the Scottish Government build on this step and get behind Lib Dem plans for hiring thousands more pupil support assistants and clamping down on violence in classrooms and on school campuses.”

Earlier in the year a six week citywide consultation was conducted and almost 14,000 responses from parents/carers, pupils and staff contributed to the findings. Almost all staff and parents favoured a ban and half of the pupils supported restrictions during teaching time.