School Rules Questions Parents Ask: Phones, Packed Lunches, Inset Days and Starting Age
Most school rules questions parents ask come down to a handful of national rules, and the rest is left to each school. The national ones in England: from 1 September 2026 every school is expected to stop pupils using mobile phones for the whole school day, including breaks and lunch, under statutory guidance; schools must open for 380 sessions (190 days) a year; children must be in education from the term after their fifth birthday; and state schools are expected to run a week of at least 32.5 hours. This page answers the everyday questions, says which rules are law and which are school policy, and links to our fuller guides where there is more to say.
Phones and devices
Can my child take a phone to school?
Usually yes, to travel with, but not to use. The Department for Education's guidance on mobile phones in schools became statutory on 29 June 2026, and schools should follow it from 1 September 2026. It says every school should be a mobile phone-free environment by default and should prohibit phones, and smart devices that can send messages or record audio or video, throughout the school day: lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime. How that works is the head's decision. Some schools use lockers, some collect phones at the gate, some use locked pouches, and some ask that phones stay switched off in bags.
Can the school confiscate a phone?
Yes. Confiscation is a lawful sanction under the DfE's behaviour guidance, and the school's behaviour policy should say how long items are kept and how they are returned. Many schools require a parent to collect a phone confiscated more than once.
Do the phone rules apply to sixth formers and colleges?
The guidance lets schools allow sixth formers limited use in set places, such as a sixth-form common room, but not in front of younger pupils. It does not apply to sixth-form colleges, further education colleges or 16 to 19 academies.
How do I contact my child during the day?
Through the school office. The guidance expects schools to respond to messages from home when needed, which is the trade-off for taking phones away.
Food and lunches
Does the school decide what goes in a packed lunch?
The School Food Standards apply to food the school provides, not to lunches brought from home. Schools can still set a packed lunch policy, for example banning fizzy drinks, sweets or nuts where there is a pupil with a severe allergy, and they enforce it through the behaviour policy. Check the school's website before buying a term's worth of snacks.
Who gets free school meals?
Every child in reception, Year 1 and Year 2 at a state school gets a free lunch under universal infant free school meals. Above that age, eligibility depends on benefits; from September 2026 it was widened to all households on Universal Credit. Our guide to free school meals and Universal Credit explains how to claim, and many primaries now run free breakfast clubs.
The school year and the school day
How many days a year is my child in school?
At least 190. The Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999 require maintained schools to meet for at least 380 half-day sessions a year. Teachers work 195 days, and the extra five are usually inset (training) days when pupils stay at home. Academies set their own year but nearly all follow the same pattern. See school term dates explained.
When are inset days, and do I get notice?
Schools choose their own inset days, often at the start of September, either side of half terms or in January. They should publish them with the term dates, usually well in advance. There is no legal minimum notice period, but schools that change a date at short notice tend to hear about it from parents and governors.
How long should the school day be?
The DfE expects every state-funded mainstream school to run a week of at least 32.5 hours, Monday to Friday, which works out at 8:45am to 3:15pm a day. That is a non-statutory expectation rather than law, and it includes breaks and lunch but not optional before and after-school clubs.
Does school close for snow?
The headteacher decides. Closures because of weather are recorded as a school closure, not a pupil absence, so they do not count against your child's attendance.
Age and starting school
When does my child have to start school?
Children must be in full-time education from the start of the term after their fifth birthday: the prescribed dates are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August. Most children start reception in the September after they turn four, and every child is entitled to a full-time place from then, but it is not compulsory until they reach compulsory school age. Parents of summer-born children can ask to delay entry; see summer-born admissions and starting reception.
Attendance, holidays and illness
Can I take my child on holiday in term time?
Only if the head grants a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances, which ordinary holidays almost never are. Unauthorised holidays can lead to a fixed penalty notice of £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 after that. The full process is in our guide to term-time holiday fines.
Should I keep my child off school if they are unwell?
For a temperature, vomiting or diarrhoea, yes: NHS advice is to stay off until 48 hours after the last bout of sickness or diarrhoea. For coughs, colds and head lice, usually not. Our page is my child too ill for school? goes through each condition.
Uniform, detentions and complaints
How many branded uniform items can a school require?
No more than three branded items for a primary pupil, and three for a secondary pupil, or four if one is a tie, under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. PE kit counts. Details in school uniform rules and costs.
Can the school give a detention without telling me first?
Yes. Schools no longer have to give parents 24 hours' written notice of a detention, including after-school detentions. They must act reasonably, though, and consider whether the pupil can get home safely; the detention rules should be in the behaviour policy.
What if I disagree with a school rule?
Start with the class teacher or head of year, then the head, then the governors under the school's complaints procedure. Every school must publish one. Our guide on how to complain about a school sets out each stage.
Sources: Department for Education, Mobile phones in schools (statutory guidance from 29 June 2026) and Length of the school week; Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999; Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026; NHS advice on illness and school. Checked 20 October 2026. Back to the Schools Insight homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are phones banned in schools in England?
From 1 September 2026, statutory DfE guidance expects schools to prohibit pupils from using mobile phones throughout the school day, including breaks and lunch. Pupils can usually still carry one for the journey, and each school decides how to store them.
How many inset days do schools have?
Usually five. Schools must open to pupils for at least 190 days (380 sessions) a year, while teachers work 195 days, and the difference is normally used for training days.
Can a school control what is in my child's packed lunch?
The School Food Standards do not cover food from home, but schools can set a packed lunch policy, such as no fizzy drinks or no nuts, and enforce it through the behaviour policy.
At what age must a child start school?
From the start of the term after their fifth birthday, using the dates 31 December, 31 March and 31 August. Most children start reception the September after they turn four, but that year is not compulsory.
How long is the school day in England?
The DfE expects state mainstream schools to run at least 32.5 hours a week, about 8:45am to 3:15pm each day. It is a non-statutory expectation.
Can a school give a detention without notice?
Yes. Schools do not have to give 24 hours' written notice, but must act reasonably and consider how the pupil will get home safely.