{"id":2703,"date":"2026-01-02T14:07:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/?p=2703"},"modified":"2026-01-19T15:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T15:49:37","slug":"the-schools-academies-show-birmingham-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/the-schools-academies-show-birmingham-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Schools &amp; Academies Show, Birmingham 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<section\n  class=\"section section-flexible-content-block\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n    <div class=\"row\">\n      <div class=\"col-md-12 reveal active\" data-aos=\"fade-up\" data-aos-duration=\"1000\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n          <div class=\"content__centered\">\n            <h2>Supporting Schools with Practical, Real-World Phone Policy Solutions<\/h2>\n<p>Phone Locker\u00ae was proud to attend <strong>The Schools &amp; Academies Show Birmingham<\/strong> at the NEC\u2014one of the UK\u2019s most important education events bringing together thousands of leaders, Multi-Academy Trusts, local authorities, and sector experts to discuss the future of education.<\/p>\n<p>The show is designed to help schools navigate today\u2019s biggest challenges through policy insight, CPD learning, collaboration, and practical solutions. And right now, one of the most urgent conversations in schools is how to manage mobile phones in a way that improves learning, behaviour, and wellbeing, without creating conflict or unmanageable workload for staff.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s exactly where Phone Locker\u00ae fits in.<\/p>\n<h3>Being Present<\/h3>\n<p>Across the UK, schools are recognising that mobile phone disruption isn\u2019t just a minor nuisance, it impacts concentration, mental wellbeing, safeguarding, relationships, and classroom climate.<\/p>\n<p>Leaders we spoke to shared common challenges, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Difficulty enforcing phone policies fairly and consistently<\/li>\n<li>Confrontations between staff and pupils when phones are confiscated<\/li>\n<li>Distractions affecting focus, behaviour, and engagement<\/li>\n<li>Pressure from parents and community expectation<\/li>\n<li>The need for clear systems over subjective rule-enforcement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the show, our team demonstrated how Phone Locker\u00ae provides a <strong>simple, fair and system-led approach<\/strong>, helping schools remove distraction, reduce conflict, and create calmer learning environments\u2014while ensuring responsibility stays with the student, not the teacher.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SaaS25.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-2704 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SaaS25-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"735\" height=\"551\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SaaS25-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SaaS25-16x12.jpeg 16w, https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SaaS25.jpeg 800w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 735px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 735\/551;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>\u201cSchools want solutions, not theories\u201d \u2013 Adam Proops<\/h3>\n<p>Managing Director <strong>Adam Proops<\/strong>, who led conversations on the stand alongside the team, reflected on why events like SAAS matter so much:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWhat really came through in Birmingham is that schools want real, workable solutions, not theory or debate. Leaders are dealing with behaviour, mental health, safeguarding pressures and the complexities of policy implementation. When they see a system like Phone Locker\u00ae that\u2019s already working in schools across the UK, and globally, it gives them confidence that phone-free environments are achievable, practical and genuinely beneficial for students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had brilliant conversations with MAT leaders, secondary schools, behaviour specialists and safeguarding teams. There\u2019s a real appetite now to move beyond discussion and put structured systems in place that support learning, wellbeing and consistency.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>A Growing National Movement<\/h3>\n<p>With increasing government guidance, growing public support, and more schools adopting structured phone-free strategies, The Schools &amp; Academies Show highlighted an important shift: schools are ready to act.<\/p>\n<p>And crucially, the conversation is not \u201canti-technology\u201d\u2014it\u2019s about <strong>protecting learning, supporting adolescent development, and restoring focus where it matters most<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>Looking Ahead to November 2026<\/h3>\n<p>The Schools &amp; Academies Show returns to Birmingham in 2026, and Phone Locker\u00ae will continue to be part of the national conversation, supporting schools and Trusts as they shape policy, culture, and environments that help pupils thrive.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re already working with schools and MATs across the UK to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reduce classroom disruption<\/li>\n<li>Support wellbeing and behaviour improvement<\/li>\n<li>Provide consistent policy rollout<\/li>\n<li>Improve staff confidence in enforcement<\/li>\n<li>Rebuild calm and focus in learning spaces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Want to Talk?<\/h3>\n<p>If you missed us at SAAS Birmingham but want to learn more about creating phone-free environments in your school or Trust, we\u2019d love to chat. We can provide:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Demonstrations<\/li>\n<li>Policy guidance<\/li>\n<li>Implementation support<\/li>\n<li>Case studies from UK schools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Get in touch at <strong><a href=\"mailto:press@phonelocker.com\">hello@phonelocker.com<\/a><\/strong> or via our website.<\/p>\n<p>Together, let\u2019s support schools to create calmer, safer, more focused learning environments.<\/p>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phone-locker"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2705,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703\/revisions\/2705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelocker.marklanham.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}