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Select Committee · Education Committee

Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing

Status: Closed Opened: 8 Sep 2023 Closed: 27 May 2024 17 recommendations 15 conclusions 1 report

The Education Committee will assess how screentime can support and impact children’s development, wellbeing and educational outcomes. The Committee will also examine the effectiveness of digital safety education in schools and the ways in which schools and parents can be better supported to manage children’s screen usage. The inquiry will also focus on how screen … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on education and wellb… HC 118 25 May 2024 32 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
12 Conclusion Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on… Accepted in Part

Educational apps lack quality standards and an evidence base, confusing parents.

There are over half a million apps claiming to be educational within leading app stores such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, but no quality standards for educational content or design features that apps must align with to be included in the educational category. As a consequence, parents … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the lack of quality standards and is working to improve the evidence base for EdTech products. It has appointed the Chartered College of Teaching to develop criteria for evaluating EdTech effectiveness and has published AI safety expectations, though it states it will …
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Department for Education
28 Recommendation Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on… Accepted in Part

Draw up legislation to regulate AI and protect children's data from operators

The next Government must draw up legislation in the first year of the new Parliament on regulating AI or risk the technology developing faster than legislation can be drawn up to control it, ultimately causing additional harm to children. AI operators should also be held accountable for their use of … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government is developing targeted legislative proposals for powerful AI systems, building on existing voluntary commitments. For children's data, it commits to using secondary legislation to require the ICO to produce a Code of Practice on AI after the Data (Use and Access) Bill receives …
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Department for Education
30 Recommendation Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on… Accepted in Part

Produce risk assessment on edtech and AI in schools; Ofcom to assess safety

The next Government should produce a risk assessment on the use of edtech and AI in schools as soon as possible, and particularly on the extent to which it poses a risk to the security of children’s data. The safety and reliability of edtech should also be assessed by Ofcom … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government states it is ensuring AI products are safe for schools by publishing AI safety expectations and developing teacher guidance, due before academic year 2025-26. DfE is also funding Ofsted to gather insights on AI use and risk mitigation, and providing guidance for schools …
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Department for Education

Oral evidence sessions

4 sessions
Date Witnesses
12 Mar 2024 Charlotte Briscall · Department for Education, Kate Dixon · Department for Education, Mark Bunting · Ofcom, Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP · Department for Education, Yih-Choung Teh · Ofcom View ↗
20 Feb 2024 Dame Rachel de Souza · Office of the Children's Commissioner for England, David Wright · The UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), Ian Critchley · National Police Chiefs’ Council, Jessica Edwards · Barnardo’s View ↗
9 Jan 2024 Darren Northcott · NASUWT The Teachers' Union, Elizabeth Anderson · Learning Foundation and the Digital Poverty Alliance, John McGee · BBC Education, Jonathan Baggaley · PSHE Association, The Baroness Kidron OBE · 5Rights Foundation View ↗
21 Nov 2023 Carolyn Bunting MBE · Internet Matters, Dr Amy Orben · University of Cambridge, Dr Bernadka Dubicka · Hull and York Medical School, University of York, Rafe Clayton · University of Leeds, Vicki Shotbolt · Parent Zone View ↗

Who gave evidence

19 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Carolyn Bunting MBE · CEO Internet Matters 1
Charlotte Briscall · Director, Chief Digital Officer Department for Education 1
Dame Rachel de Souza · Children’s Commissioner for England Office of the Children's Commissioner for England 1
Darren Northcott · National Official NASUWT The Teachers' Union 1
David Wright · Director The UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) 1
Dr Amy Orben · Founder of the Digital Mental Health Research Gro… University of Cambridge 1
Dr Bernadka Dubicka · Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Hull and York Medical School, University of York 1
Elizabeth Anderson · Chief Executive Learning Foundation and the Digital Poverty Alliance 1
Ian Critchley · Lead on Child Protection National Police Chiefs’ Council 1
Jessica Edwards · Senior Policy Advisor on Childhood Harms Barnardo’s 1
John McGee · Senior Policy Advisor BBC Education 1
Jonathan Baggaley · Chief Executive PSHE Association 1
Kate Dixon · Director of Pupil Wellbeing and Safety Department for Education 1
Mark Bunting · Director of Online Safety Strategy Delivery Ofcom 1
Rafe Clayton · Principal Investigator, New Uses of Screens in Po… University of Leeds 1
Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP · Minister of State for Schools Department for Education 1
The Baroness Kidron OBE · Founder and Chair 5Rights Foundation 1
Vicki Shotbolt · Founder and CEO Parent Zone 1
Yih-Choung Teh · Group Director for Strategy and Research Ofcom 1