"No! We Don't Want Responsibility!"

More than 120 schools today back a pledge to ban ‘corrosive’ mobile phones.

In an open letter, dozens of headteachers say every school should implement a ‘phone-free’ policy to end the ‘disruptive’ influence of the devices.

Well, what's stopping them? If they want to, they can.

The letter, organised by the think-tank Onward, has been signed by 30 school executives and heads who run some of the best-performing schools in England – including academies ranked in the country’s top ten.

See? Just follow the example set by these schools.

Or...don't. It is, after all, their choice.

In a challenge to other schools, the headteachers argue that phones can be ‘corrosive to otherwise calm and structured learning environments’.

They say: ‘A firm policy against their use is the best way for schools to maintain order in the face of the disruption that mobile phones can cause.’

Maybe those other schools feel their time and money is best spent on other approaches? I repeat: it's their choice.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has backed a ban but stopped short of bringing in nationwide rules, insisting that headteachers must decide their own policies.

Quite right.

What's the matter, people - aren't you supposed to teach responsibility and judgement, rather than slavish acquiescence to rules?