“We share the commission’s concern about the erosion of outdoor play and increase in screen time among children. This is having a profound impact on their health and wellbeing and exposing them to sinister online harms.
“We welcome the commission’s society-wide proposals to embed children’s play in our infrastructure and culture. These proposals are potentially transformative.
“In schools, play time has been squeezed by a crowded curriculum, the drive to improve academic outcomes, and the accompanying pressure of national testing and accountability standards.
“We need to rebalance the curriculum and introduce a more nuanced accountability system to free up time in the school day.
“However, we would caution against an overly prescriptive approach to play as this would create yet another expectation on schools and may impact on other areas of the curriculum.
“We’re not persuaded that a statutory smartphone ban is needed in schools as they already have robust policies in place and the vast majority of smartphone use happens outside school.
“Indeed, schools frequently have to deal with the fallout of problems which start on social media after school has finished for the day and during weekends.
“What we really need to see is more action over the technology and platforms available to young people. We support the commission’s call to raise the digital age of consent to 16. There is a growing consensus for this measure and the government should now commit to bringing this forward in legislation.”