Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing

The government states that Ofsted, as an independent inspectorate, is responsible for its inspection framework and already evaluates PSHE within the personal development judgement, noting that Ofsted is considering responses to a revised framework consultation.

The government acknowledges the importance of protecting children's personal data and will keep the area under review, stating it will give further consideration to the committee’s recommendation for a consultation on the digital age of consent.

The government acknowledges the current legal digital consent age of 13 and the importance of keeping this area under review. It states it will give further consideration to the committee's recommendation to launch a consultation by the end of the year on raising the age of digital consent to 16, but does not commit to it.

The government states there is currently a lack of evidence to support a smartphone ban for under 16s and is building evidence on the matter. It defers to Ofcom's upcoming report under the Online Safety Act, which will assess app stores and age assurance, rather than committing to its own consultation on all additional measures.

The government's response focuses on improving the evidence base for EdTech products, developing AI safety expectations, and the digital literacy curriculum, rather than addressing the recommendation to implement a formal monitoring mechanism for the mobile phone ban.

The government's response focuses on the existing RSHE curriculum, online safety guidance, and ongoing reviews of RSHE and the broader curriculum to embed digital literacy, rather than directly addressing the committee's welcome of flexibility in mobile phone ban guidance.

The government deflects the recommendation for parental guidance on screen time by focusing entirely on the implementation of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom's role in regulating online services, and measures to protect children from harmful content and criminal behaviour online.

The government deflected, stating it is building evidence on online impacts and that Ofcom will report on app stores and age assurance regarding harmful content, but did not commit to commissioning guidance or supporting a kitemarking scheme for educational value.

The government confirms that guidance and support for digital literacy and online safety are being addressed, citing existing DfE guidance. It also states that further actions regarding online safety content will be determined after the ongoing RSHE review and a new independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which aims to embed digital skills.

The government deflected by discussing legislative proposals for AI systems and an ICO Code of Practice on AI and children's data, without addressing the specific recommendation for additional teacher training in PSHE and digital literacy or embedding online safety into ICT training.

The government deflected by detailing DfE's funding for Ofsted's insights on AI use and its published advice for schools on mitigating Generative AI risks, but did not commit to consolidating all non-statutory digital safety guidance or investing in subject knowledge enhancement courses for teachers.

The government deflected, discussing its support services for technology use in schools and general safeguarding efforts, but did not address the committee's concern that PSHE, including digital literacy, cannot be adequately evaluated solely within Ofsted's personal development metric.

The government explains that AI systems will primarily be regulated at the point of use by existing regulators, while also developing targeted legislative proposals for powerful AI systems. It commits to requiring the ICO to produce a Code of Practice on AI, including guidance for children, via secondary legislation after the Data (Use and Access) Bill receives Royal Assent.