A majority of MPs back a ban on mobile phones in all schools during the working day, including break times, a survey by RTL Nieuws has found.

D66 MP Hanneke van der Werf is launching an initiative in parliament calling smartphones to be either left at home or locked away until the end of the school day.

The 1,600-plus secondary schools have already agreed to ban phones in the classroom since the start of this year, but around half still allow them to be used in the playground or during the lunch break.

“We still see pupils too often spending time on TikTok during lessons and teachers having to act as police officers,” Van der Werf said.

The largest opposition party GL-PvdA and two of the parties in the caretaker coalition, NSC and BBB, told RTL they supported the idea, along with five minor parties – enough to make up a majority.

Van der Werf does not plan to use the law to force schools to ban phones, but introduce guidelines for them to follow. “We’ve clearly seen that that works very well,” she said. “Teachers and pupils know where they stand.”

Primary schools have banned smartphones since the start of the current school year in September, unless pupils need them for medical reasons or the devices are used as part of a lesson.

Initial surveys have shown teachers are happy with the effect on pupils’ concentration and behaviour. Staff report that children talk to each other more and are better behaved than they were before the ban.