Blanket bans sound clean, but children are not neat. Some pupils need a quiet line to home because anxiety is real, and school can be a hard place to endure. The February 2024 guidance already allowed exceptions for genuine need; the tougher 2026 push should not turn compassion into a disciplinary offence. If a school wants trust from parents, it should publish clear exceptions and treat them with dignity, not suspicion. Ban the scrolling, ban the filming, ban the bullying-by-screen, absolutely. But don't punish the child who is trying to feel safe, because the point of school is care as well as control.