VIRTUALLY every youngster has a mobile phone today and the technology is an essential part of their daily lives.

Parents want their sons and daughters to be contactable too.

Smartphones have become a vital tool but their use has to be controlled in schools.

Pupils need to be paying attention to teachers, not communicating with friends across the classroom. Headteachers in East Lancashire already quite rightly take a tough stance on the use of mobiles.

The general rule is that when they are allowed, they must be switched off unless permission is given to use them.

In Blackburn and Burnley, some of the new Building Schools for the Future schools are no-go zones by accident rather than design because the steel-framed structures inadvertantly block reception.

All of which makes the announcement by the chief inspector of Ofsted rather puzzling.

Sir Michael Wilshaw has said his organisation’s inspectors will be reviewing phone use in schools.

Surely Ofsted exists to measure and improve education standards. Pupil behaviour is a matter for heads.

What next – Ofsted regulations on haircuts?