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Police boss funds phone-free measures at 30 schools

BBC Close-up of a pupil in a dark school blazer with red trim placing a smartphone into a small blue pouch bearing the school crest, standing on a pavement.BBC
Some pupils can store their phones in lockable pouches

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) has named 30 schools where he will fund measures to store pupils' phones during the day.

Secondary schools in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire will be given money for solutions such as lockers or phone pouches.

A £255,000 fund was announced in June by Thames Valley PCC Matthew Barber, who said the measures would reduce the risk of crimes such as anti-social behaviour and exploitation.

A ban on smartphones in schools in England came into force on 29 June, making individual schools and trusts legally responsible for being phone-free throughout the day.

Barber said his Phone-Free Schools Fund was funded by the sale of items seized from criminals, where the property cannot be returned to the rightful owners.

The first of the funded measures will be implemented during the current school term, the PCC said.

Schools receiving funding

  • Aylesbury Vale Academy, Buckinghamshire
  • Baylis Court School, Berkshire
  • Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School, Berkshire
  • Dedworth Middle School, Berkshire
  • Denefield School, Berkshire
  • Glebe Farm All-Through School, Milton Keynes
  • Gosford Hill School, Oxfordshire
  • Holyport College, Berkshire
  • Kents Hill Park School, Milton Keynes
  • Kings Academy Binfield, Berkshire
  • Langley Grammar School, Berkshire
  • Lord Williams's School, Oxfordshire
  • Maiden Erlegh School, Earley, Berkshire
  • Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge, Sonning Common, Oxfordshire
  • Maiden Erlegh School, Reading, Berkshire
  • Meadowbrook College, Oxfordshire
  • Oakbank School, Berkshire
  • Pebble Brook School, Buckinghamshire
  • Reading Girls' School, Berkshire
  • River Academy, Berkshire
  • Shenley Brook End School, Milton Keynes
  • Slough and Eton CofE Business and Enterprise College, Berkshire
  • St Edward's Royal Free Middle School, Berkshire
  • The Cottesloe School, Buckinghamshire
  • The Grange School, Buckinghamshire
  • The Oxford Academy, Oxfordshire
  • The Wren School, Berkshire
  • UTC Reading, Berkshire
  • Wexham School, Berkshire
  • Wheatley Park School, Oxfordshire
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