Schools should limit time children stare at screens in class because it is a danger to their health, Tories say

Published: 11:35 EST, 14 November 2026 | Updated: 12:00 EST, 14 November 2026 Schools should limit the time children spend staring at screens in class because it is a danger to their health, the Conservatives have said.The Conservative Party are supporting guidance drafted by health professionals recommending that children in early years education should have no screen time.Screen use in primary school should be kept to a minimum and used only when necessary to fulfil the national curriculum's requirements, according to the guidance.Screen use amongst secondary school pupils should also be limited to two hours a day including outside of school hours.The guidance added that using computers and tablets in school can lead to physical and developmental problems including eyesight, sleep and musculoskeletal issues. Screens can even affect speech and language development as well as cause emotional dysregulation.But since Covid-19 the use of electronic devices including tablets, laptops and interactive whiteboards in the classroom has never been bigger.Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said screens were causing 'real damage' to children after schools embraced the technology for day-to-day activities. Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott speaking during the Conservative Party conference'Screens themselves pose danger to a child’s health, their happiness and their learning,' she told The Times.'It’s extraordinary actually that within the law, adults have a legal right to break from screens, but we haven’t examined this at all where it comes to children.' Ms Trott added that some children spend all day at school looking at a screen only to continue staring at them when they go home.Pupils now spend more time looking at a screen in the classroom than the recommended usage across a whole week, analysis by Health Professionals for Safer Screens found.The organisation said that a million schoolchildren were using devices in every lesson and 2.6million pupils use screens every day as part of their learning.Ms Trott, who has campaigned to ban social media for under-16s and phones in school, said everything allowed into school should be safe but that has not been the case in the last decade.'The argument I am making today is that too much time on screens, regardless of content, is damaging for children,' she said.Rather than including screens in the curriculum, Ms Trott believes that children would benefit from a traditional approach to education using pen, paper and textbooks. Pupils at a secondary school in Worcestershire UK using computers in a classroomShe said that the once popular view that a classroom full of high-tech computers is a positive thing for teaching is now outdated.A spokesperson for Lucy Powell said: 'The Conservatives had 14 years in government to get to grips with the challenges technology presents for childhood, and did nothing. 'Of course, the conversation about children’s relationship with screens is an important one, and we need to get it right. But this has to be about more than screen-time limits. 'It’s about reimagining childhood and making sure children have the opportunities, encouragement and space to read, play, learn and spend time together away from screens.'Building on the guidance we’ve already produced for under-fives, this Labour government will bring forward clear guidance on screen time for all kids in the new year, giving parents and teachers the reassurance and practical advice they need.'Do YOU have a story? Email Joshua.Haining@dailymail.co.uk