European researchers, policymakers, NGOs and young people gathered to see what evidence tells us about smartphones, schools and young people's mental health
(L-R) Professor Victoria Goodyear, Isaac Searle, Gareth Hughes, Dr Sian Griffiths, Professor Miranda Pallan, Simon Pickard, Rayan Temara and Mieke Schuurman
The University of Birmingham have brought together policymakers, researchers, charities and youth representatives from across Europe for a major public forum on adolescent digital wellbeing in schools.
SMART Schools Brussels: What Works in Supporting Adolescent Digital Wellbeing? took place on 8 July 2026 at the University of Birmingham’s Brussels Office in the heart of the EU district. The event included presentations and discussions drawing on findings from the NIHR-funded SMART Schools programme led by Professor Victoria Goodyear and reflects the programme's growing influence within EU education and digital policy circles.
Representatives from several embassies, the European Parliament, Mental Health Europe, the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, and Eurochild attended the event. During the day, discussions focused on forthcoming country and EU-wide policies aimed to improve young people’s health and wellbeing through restricting phone and social media use.
Professor Goodyear opened the forum by presenting the SMART Schools findings, including their first paper published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe. Drawing on data from 30 schools and 1,227 pupils across the UK in a nationally representative sample, the study found no significant difference in mental health, physical activity, sleep, attainment or disruptive behaviour between schools with restrictive and permissive smartphone policies - and no difference across age, sex, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.
Professor Victoria Goodyear said: "Rather than asking whether smartphones or social media are inherently good or bad, we need to understand the benefits - and who is most vulnerable, and under what circumstances, and why. This is how we strengthen the evidence base, so our policies are more likely to have impact."
She added: "We need policies that are evidence-informed, adaptable as technologies change, and evaluated through an equity lens - and developed in partnership to ensure change has benefits for all children and young people."
Normunds Popens, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission
The EU perspective
In the event's keynote address, Normunds Popens, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission (pictured above) reflected on the challenge facing policymakers across Europe, acknowledging that the evidence base still has significant gaps.
Normunds Popens said: "A full ban may seem straightforward, but the question is whether it really works. There may be other ways to limit screen time. We still do not have enough data on the real impact of young people’s use of iPads and iPhones.
“There is clear evidence that devices can be distracting in classrooms, but we need to understand much more about what happens when they are used for long periods of time"
Popens emphasised the Commission’s view that schools provide the essential foundation for addressing these challenges. He also pointed to the need for platform regulation as a complement to education policy: "It's not about punishing [platforms] - it's just about putting some order in what they do. The regulation is important. This is where the EU has strengths."
Panel discussions
Two panels of experts then reflected on the research presentations and policy perspective.
Simon Pickard, Network Director at Science|Business chaired discussions which includes perspectives from:
A thread running through the discussions was the risk of treating a complex, systemic challenge related to young people’s health, wellbeing and education as though it had a single, simple fix. Speakers consistently urged policymakers to resist reaching for blanket bans and to instead adopt a nuanced, evidence-informed approach.
The forum also heard calls for technology companies to take greater responsibility for creating safer digital environments, with panellists from Mental Health Europe and Eurochild arguing that the burden of protecting children online cannot continue to fall on parents, teachers or young people themselves.
SMART Schools is a major programme of research led by the University of Birmingham that is helping policymakers, schools and young people move beyond simple debates about bans towards evidence-informed approaches to adolescent digital wellbeing.
For media enquiries please contact the University Press Office, University of Birmingham, tel: +44 (0)121 414 2772.
Professor of Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing
Professor Victoria Goodyear's main research area focuses on social media/digital technologies and young people's health and wellbeing
Professor of Child and Adolescent Public Health
Miranda's research focuses on child and adolescent health. She has expertise in complex intervention development and evaluation, multi-methods research, and research with disadvantaged and ethnically diverse communities.
Research Fellow
Dr Amie Randhawa is a researcher in adolescent health and wellbeing.
