Brianna Ghey‘s school has introduced an all-out phone ban in the wake of her murder, with her head teacher saying that the measure has ‘transformed behaviour’ among pupils.
Since September, students at Birchwood Community High have had to place their mobile phones in a lockable pouch at the start of the day, in an attempt to tackle bullying and mental health issues affecting teens.
Speaking to the Mirror, headmistress Emma Mills said that the scheme is ‘allowing kids to be kids again’.
She highlighted how there is more ‘chatter’ between students during their breaks, and that pupils appear more focused in their lessons.
‘Students say they like the ‘break’ from it. They say it has reduced their stress levels knowing they don’t have to think about what is happening. It has made them realise they can live without it’, Mills added.
Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey, who has been campaigning for phone-free schools, praised Birchwood for the steps it has taken to ban mobile devices.
‘After speaking with many teachers, it’s clear that smartphones are having a deeply harmful impact in schools’, she said.
‘Educators are constantly battling the effects of what students are exposed to online, whether it’s misogynistic content, self-harm, suicidal ideation, or bullying through and other platforms.’
Brianna Ghey was murdered by classmate Scarlett Jenkinson and her friend Eddie Ratcliffe in a premeditated attack in Cheshire in 2023
Esther Ghey said she supported a ‘blanket ban’ on phones in schools across the country amid concerns about how devices can be misused by students
Ms Ghey’s 16-year-old trans daughter was murdered by classmate Scarlett Jenkinson and her friend Eddie Ratcliffe in a premeditated attack in Cheshire in 2023.
Brianna, who had thousands of followers on TikTok, struggled with her mental health, which was worsened by accessing eating-disorder and self-harm content on X.
From the age of 14, Jenkinson enjoyed watching videos of real killing and torture on the dark web, fantasised about murder and developed an interest in serial killers.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, lured Brianna to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington where she was fatally stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in February 2023.
Jenkinson was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in December 2023 to a minimum sentence of 22 years in prison, and Ratcliffe to a minimum term of 20 years.
The court heard that Jenkinson became ‘obsessed’ with Brianna after joining Birchwood High in October 2022.
The teenagers were discussing Brianna’s murder for weeks, detailed in Jenkinson’s handwritten murder plan and phone messages found by detectives.
Jenkinson, while aged 14, downloaded a TOR internet browser app, to watch videos of the torture and murder of real people, in ‘red rooms’ on the ‘dark web’.
She grew an interest in serial killers, making notes on their methods and admitted enjoying ‘dark fantasies’ about killing and torture, with the pair living in a secret world of warped interests in murder and cruelty, the trial heard.
Schools in England were given non-statutory guidance under the former Conservative government in February last year intended to stop the use of phones during the school day.
Scarlett Jenkinson, who was jailed for a minimum of 22 years after murdering Brianna Ghey
Eddie Ratcliffe, who was jailed for a minimum of 20 years after murdering Brianna Ghey
Brianna Ghey’s mother has campaigned for a ban on social media access for children after her daughter looked up self-harm content online
Brianna Ghey pictured boarding the bus on February 11 2023 – the day she died
A survey of more than 15,000 schools in England by the Children’s Commissioner suggests that the vast majority already have policies in place that restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said it was his ‘personal view’ that the Labour Government should take a stronger stance on restricting mobile phone use in schools.
Last month, Ms Badenoch questioned why the Government opposed a Tory amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require schools to ban the use of phones.
In response, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the proposal as ‘completely unnecessary’ as he claimed ‘almost every school’ already bans phones.
Ms Ghey has campaigned for an age limit on smartphone use, stricter controls on access to social media apps, tougher action on knife crime and for mindfulness to be taught in schools.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme earlier this month, she expressed her support for a ‘blanket ban’ on smartphones in schools.
‘We need to support teachers in a blanket ban across England,’ she said.
‘If a school has banned phones in one area and in the same area another school hasn’t – it becomes an issue with parents. It needs to be done across the board to make it easier.’
