There is no national rule.
The statutory guidance is about the school day, and it hands trips and residentials straight back to the school to decide. It nudges towards restriction — schools “should consider” prohibiting or restricting phones — but the decision, and therefore the answer to “why are we allowed phones on this trip and not that one”, is local. Nobody is being contradicted by DfE either way.
updated 28 Jun 2026last checked 17 Sept 2026
What the source actually says
“Schools should determine how they wish to manage the use of mobile phones by pupils on residential trips or trips outside of the normal school day. Schools should ensure that pupils’ educational experience on a school trip is not disrupted by the presence of mobile phones and should consider prohibiting or restricting their use.”
— Mobile phones in schools, DfE, statutory guidance, “The use of mobile phones outside the school day” DfE
The guidance’s own scope is the school day, and it says so:
“This publication provides statutory guidance to individual schools and trusts on how to implement a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime.”
— same source, “About this guidance” DfE
Two things it does hold schools to, whatever they decide about trips. Boarding and residential settings get a specific carve-out:
“Boarding schools and residential schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the teaching day. They should develop appropriate policies regarding the use of mobile phones during the rest of their pupils’ time at school, which safeguards and promotes the welfare of the children in their care”
— same source, “Prohibiting the use of mobile phones in school” DfE
And pupils must be able to reach a phone to raise an online concern:
“Schools should ensure that pupils are able to access their mobile phone where necessary when raising concerns with teachers about issues which have occurred online. This is particularly important in residential settings.”
— same source, “The use of mobile phones outside the school day” DfE
On the guidance’s status and start date, in its own words:
“This guidance became statutory on 29 June 2026.”
— Mobile phones in schools, DfE, statutory guidance, opening lines (under the heading “Mobile phones in schools”, immediately before “About this guidance”) DfE
“Schools should begin following it from 1 September 2026”
— Mobile phones in schools, DfE, statutory guidance, opening lines (under the heading “Mobile phones in schools”, immediately before “About this guidance”) DfE
Your school may still require it
Because this one is genuinely your school’s to decide, expect variation between trips and expect to enforce whatever the trip’s own plan says. Your school can lawfully ban phones outright on a residential, permit them at fixed times, or require them handed in overnight — and can direct you to collect and store them. The useful sentence in a planning meeting is not “DfE requires this”, because it does not; it is “what have we decided, and have we told parents?”
See also Can I confiscate a pupil's phone, and for how long?, Does every school trip need its own risk assessment? and Am I banned from using my own phone during the school day?.