Over 150 clinicians warn of health crisis from screen use in English schools

Mixed · 2More than 150 clinicians, including GPs, ophthalmologists, audiologists, paediatricians and speech and language therapists, have warned in an open letter that screen use in schools is harming children's "physical and developmental health". 1 2 Mixed · 2The letter is addressed to Yvette Cooper and Lucy Powell; the BBC names Powell as Education Secretary and Cooper as Health Secretary, while the Mirror calls Powell "the health secretary". 2 1 Mixed · 2The clinicians say nearly one million children use screens in most or almost every lesson, and that many spend longer on screens in the classroom than is recommended over 24 hours. 1 2

Left · 1They say about £900 million a year is spent on "EdTech" in English schools, yet products need not show they are safe for children's health before schools buy them. The letter calls the lack of child-focused health scrutiny "a serious safeguarding concern", according to the Mirror. 1 Mixed · 2On eyesight, the BBC reports the clinicians cited an analysis of 276 studies covering 5.4 million participants, which they say found short-sightedness among children and adolescents rising from around 24% in 1990 to almost 36% by 2023; the Mirror reports they said the proportion of short-sighted children has more than doubled since the 1960s. 2 1 Left · 1The Mirror also reports the clinicians' claims that three hours of daily screen use would see the average three-year-old miss an estimated 194 conversational turns and 1,139 adult words a day, that more than two million UK children struggle with speech and language, and that around a third start school not ready to learn. 1

Centre · 1The letter says children with special educational needs and disabilities are "disproportionately" directed to screen-based learning, and the clinicians say they are prescribing glasses, hearing aids and speech therapy for a problem being made worse in schools. 2 Centre · 1The BBC reports the letter acknowledges that "some of this evidence is still surfacing" but says the direction of travel is consistent across multiple, independent research bodies, and urges the country to start "rolling back screen use in schools". 2 Centre · 1Dr Becky Foljambe, an NHS GP and founder of Health Professionals for Safer Screens, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that parents had not been able to "opt out" of "excessive" screen use and that the rise in short-sightedness "cannot be put down to genetics alone". 2

Left · 1Jane Rowland of the campaign group SafeScreens called on ministers to commission a fully independent review of 1:1 devices and EdTech in schools before more public money is spent. 1 Centre · 1A Department for Education spokesperson said the government is developing screen-time guidance for children aged five to 18 and will consult on the safety of AI and educational technology in schools, adding that "used well, technology can be a powerful tool to support learners who need it". 2 Centre · 1The BBC notes the letter follows a ban on smartphones in schools in England that came into force in June, making schools and trusts legally responsible for keeping the day phone-free. 2