UK Phone Pouches is backing a major initiative alongside Cheshire Police and campaigner Esther Ghey to help create safer, more focused school environments, and is donating phone pouches for all students receiving Free School Meals in schools across Cheshire.
UK Phone Pouches has unveiled a significant contribution to Cheshire’s efforts to become the first county in Britain where every secondary school adopts a phone-free learning model. The initiative is being coordinated with Dan Price, Cheshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, and Esther Ghey, who leads the national Phone Free Education movement.
This development comes amid increasing concern about the negative effects of unrestricted smartphone use in schools, including cyberbullying, classroom disruption, access to inappropriate material, and safeguarding incidents linked to covert recording and online distribution.
UK Phone Pouches was established to give schools a practical and affordable way to limit phone use, informed by its founders’ own experience as parents witnessing how smartphones can contribute to stress, distraction, and behavioural challenges in school settings.
Many schools have long been required to pay inflated prices for basic pouches that often do not include key features like signal blocking or anti-graffiti coatings. UK Phone Pouches is committed to addressing this by providing Better Pouches, Better Prices and Better Support, enabling schools to apply strong phone-free safeguarding policies without facing prohibitive costs.
As part of the programme in Cheshire, UK Phone Pouches partnered with the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner to support a conference attended by local secondary schools, ensuring the entire event was phone-free by providing secure pouches for all devices upon entry.
- Free donated phone pouches for all students receiving Free School Meals (FSM)
- A fixed discounted price for all Cheshire secondary schools, regardless of student population size
This support is designed to make phone free learning achievable for every school (not just State Secondary Schools) and every child, not just those schools with larger budgets.
Mark Payne, Director of UK Phone Pouches, said: “Our mission has always been simple: stop schools being overcharged for inferior pouches and make effective phone safety affordable for everyone. Cheshire is leading the way nationally. With our donation combined with better pouches, better prices and better support, we are proud to help the county protect students, support teachers and create safer learning environments.”
UK Phone Pouches is already working with more than 100 schools across the UK, delivering high quality, signal blocking pouches that eliminate loopholes often found in alternatives. The company continues to expand support for schools, local authorities and youth safety initiatives committed to reducing mobile phone related harm.
