A total of 177 people across the city and district have signed up to a pact which focuses on children enjoying childhood without a phone in their hands from an early stage.

The "Smartphone Free Childhood Parent Pact" allows parents to anonymously declare their commitment to choosing to wait to give their child a smartphone until at least the end of Year 9.

The movement is gathering pace, with almost 55,000 parents having signed up at the time of writing, which is a drastic rise from just two days ago, when the figure sat at 34,000.

Anyone signing the pact selects which school their child/children attend or will be attending and what school year they are in - from Reception to Year 10, as well as the option to select starting school in 2025, 2026, 2027, or 2028.

This means there is data for which schools have parents signing the pact.

List of schools from which parents in Bradford have signed the pact

• Burley Oaks Primary School, Burley in Wharfedale - 54
• Addingham Primary School, Addingham - 49
• Baildon CE Primary School, Baildon - 11
• Ben Rhydding Primary School, Ben Rhydding - 6
• Saltaire Primary School, Saltaire - 6
• All Saints' CE Primary School, Ilkley - 5
• Burley and Woodhead CE Primary School, Burley in Wharfedale - 4
• Cullingworth Village Primary School, Cullingworth - 4
• Sandal Primary School, Baildon - 4
• Crossflatts Primary School, Crossflatts - 3
• Harden Primary School, Harden - 3
• Moorfield School, Ilkley - 3
• Silsden Primary School, Silsden - 3
• Beckfoot School, Bingley - 2
• Bradford Grammar School, Frizinghall - 2
• Ghyll Royd School, Burley in Wharfedale - 2
• Myrtle Park Primary, Bingley - 2
• St Joseph's RC Primary School, Bingley - 2
• Ashlands Primary School, Ilkley - 1
• Beckfoot Thornton, Thornton - 1
• Bingley Grammar School, Bingley - 1
• Ilkley Grammar School, Ilkley - 1
• Low Moor CE Primary School, Low Moor - 1
• Parkside School, Cullingworth - 1
• Poplars Farm Primary School, Bolton Outlanes - 1
• St Francis RC Primary School, Bolton Outlanes - 1
• Thornton Primary School, Thornton - 1
• Tong Leadership Academy, Tong - 1
• Wilsden Primary School, Wilsden - 1
• Wycliffe CE Primary School, Shipley - 1

Almost 1,000 parents in West Yorkshire have signed the pact, from across 206 schools.

There are 8,068 schools featured across the full data.

The organisers of the wider "Smartphone Free Childhood" group said the more people who sign the pact, "the more powerful it becomes in shifting the social norm in our community."

They added: "Plus we'll use the data to show the Government how much this matters to parents across the country, so that they take urgent action to protect children from the harms of smartphones and social media."

Some of the problems with smartphones among young people listed on the group's website include: harmful content, addiction, academic distraction, grooming, cyberbullying and mental illness.

A child on a phone (Image: Pixabay) The website states: "Underpinning all these harms is one that is potentially the most significant of all.

"For the first time in human history, children are spending more time on devices than they are playing – an activity crucial to our healthy development.

"Smartphones are experience blockers, distracting children from engaging in the real world.

"The average UK 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week – equivalent to a part-time job – on their smartphone.

"This leaves little time for the real world activities and relationships that enable us to learn the essential life skills we need to transition into adulthood."

The group describes itself as an "accidental movement", with the roots of something bigger first emerging in February this year when friends Daisy and Clare set up a WhatsApp group to support each other in the decision to hold off on buying their kids smartphones.

Within 24 hours, thousands of other parents had joined after an Instagram post by Daisy went viral.

The initial group quickly maxed out at 1000 members, so they encouraged people to set up local groups to build the conversation in their areas.

Within hours over 60 Smartphone Free Childhood WhatsApp groups had launched the length and breadth of Britain, kicking off a national conversation about the harms of smartphones for children.