Molly Kingsley raises a question that is long overdue: Why was the ban on the use of mobile devices in schools not implemented sooner? The consistent presence of these gadgets in the educational environment is gradually eroding our children's focus, determination, and attention span, she argues. She speaks about this issue which has been of significant concern in a Daily Mail article.

Upon hearing the news that the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, is due to announce an embargo on cellphones during school hours, Kingsley couldn't help but exclaim 'Hallelujah!'. But her elation was shortly followed by another question: What took so long for this decision to be made?

She expresses amazement over the fact that only now the government is acknowledging a problem that educators and parents have been aware of for years. The issue is the gradual but noticeable deteriorating effect the presence of mobile phones in the classroom has on our children's capacity to remain focused and motivated.

A plethora of studies have consistently shown the detrimental effect a smartphone buzzing with notifications in a student's pocket can have on scholastic achievement. A notable example is a report from Unesco's Global Education Monitoring, which found that children can take up to 20 minutes to refocus on their schoolwork after being disturbed by an alert on their phone.

The repercussions, however, extend beyond academics. Currently, many schools have no standardised way of controlling smartphone use, and while some have taken steps to ban them from classrooms, they're frequently allowed during break times and lunch hours. This often results in groups of children engrossed in their screens instead of being engaged in invigorating face-to-face conversations or physical activities.

Moreover, the problem doesn't hide itself within the boundaries of the school. The misuse of smartphones by teenagers is equally damaging - from the ones who prefer scrolling through social media late in the night over a restful sleep, to those who suffer bullying through dreadful messages on various apps.

Kingsley strongly hopes that this much-awaited initiative will spark a wider conversation involving parents, politicians, and even mobile phone manufacturers, on how to properly manage adolescent's relationship with their phones. Molly Kingsley is the founder of the parent campaign group UsForThem.