Teachers call for school wi-fi ban

Scientists set up 15 laptop computers commonly used in UK schools and investigated the strength of the radiowaves around them. The findings, presented today at HPA's annual conference at the University of Warwick, concluded that exposures to radio waves from Wi-Fi equipment were well within internationally-accepted exposure guidelines.

But Philip Parkin, general secretary of education professionals union Voice said: "Just because a few laptops have been tested and found to have no immediate effects, doesn't mean there might not be long-term effects on developing children." 

Voice is calling for a ban on the installation of new wi-fi systems in schools, for existing systems to be turned off when not required and that schools should consider whether they really need to use wi-fi.

Parkin added: "It is a considerable concern that in schools we are installing wi-fi systems and we have no clear evidence that they are safe. My concern is that until they are declared to be safe and proven to be safe we should not be installing them in schools. The difficulty is that once installed in schools, they are switched on constantly. Whether the children are using them or not, they are exposed to that level of radiation."

The union is also calling for nurseries to ban mobile phones to protect children and staff from illicit photography.