Cut screen time in classrooms to avoid long-term health issues, clinicians urge — SkimNews
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- 150+ clinicians — GPs, paediatricians and other specialists — sent an open letter to Education Secretary Lucy Powell and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, warning that tablets and laptops are being used in schools without understanding their long-term health impacts.
- The group cited a meta-analysis of 276 studies covering 5.4 million participants, claiming short-sightedness among children and adolescents rose from ~24% in 1990 to nearly 36% by 2023.
- Dr Becky Foljambe, NHS GP and founder of Health Professionals for Safer Screens, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that nearly one million children use screens in most lessons and parents have not been able to "opt out" of "excessive" use.
- The letter said clinicians are prescribing glasses, hearing aids and speech therapy to children "for a problem that is unintentionally being made worse in our schools," and that many children now exceed recommended daily screen time inside the classroom alone.
- The clinicians warned that children with special educational needs are "disproportionately" directed to screen-based learning, a point not echoed in the government's response.
- Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said ed-tech is only one part of learning alongside discussion, PE and break times, and backed "practical, evidence-based guidance."
- The Department for Education said it is developing new screen-time guidance for children aged 5-18 and will consult on AI and ed-tech safety — a process launched after England's school smartphone ban came into force in June.
Why it matters: The clinicians are pressing the government while it drafts its first formal screen-time guidance for ages 5-18, and the cited jump in short-sightedness from ~24% in 1990 to nearly 36% by 2023 across 5.4 million study participants gives the campaign a concrete benchmark — meaning schools and trusts that are already phone-free may soon face additional expectations on laptop and tablet use during lessons.
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