Smart glasses 'should not be anywhere near schools', minister warns

Smart glasses should not be allowed in schools, an education minister has insisted, as he said he would issue advice to headteachers around the wearable tech.

Josh MacAlister told MPs he would “clarify guidance” around smart glasses a week after a minister suggested the government could introduce restrictions on their sale.

Smart glasses have become more common in recent years, and some models can record video footage, take photographs, show text on the lenses for the wearer and play music.

Their ability to take photos and video has caused concern over privacy, with some women reporting the technology has been used to record covert footage of them which has been uploaded on social media.

In response to a question by Labour MP Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre), Mr MacAlister said he was aware of the threat posed by changes in technology.

He said: “I share my honourable friend’s concerns about some of the advances in technology, and I am determined and prepared to further clarify guidance, particularly in relation to smart glasses, so that it is absolutely clear that they should not be anywhere near our schools.”

Labour MP Sarah Russell (Congleton) later said smart glasses should be banned from public buildings “as a matter of urgency”.

Last week a debate in Parliament heard ministers were considering a ban on “certain users” buying them, but did not specify who would be affected.

Safeguarding minister Satvir Kaur said the government was looking at restrictions “at pace”.

Liberal Democrat culture spokeswoman Anna Sabine said the technology could infringe on safety and privacy in public spaces.

Ms Sabine said: “How can we put the genie back in the bottle once these glasses are being worn everywhere?”

Earlier on Tuesday Mr MacAlister had defended the government’s new rules on smartphones in schools and said it would stop children “doom scrolling in the corner of the playground”.

The Department for Education will tell headteachers from September next year phones should not be “seen or heard” in schools, and they should be inaccessible to pupils during the day.

Mr MacAlister said: “We need to work together, parents, teachers, and government, to change children’s expectations about what the school day looks like.

“It should be a time to get lost in learning and make friendships that last a lifetime, not to be stuck doom scrolling in the corner of the playground.”

It was welcomed by shadow education secretary Laura Trott, who said the government was adopting Conservative policies.

Ms Trott said: “Smartphones in schools are a disaster for learning, they are a disaster for safeguarding and a disaster for happiness.

“This is an important step forward in giving children their childhood back.”