Mobile phones have been banned for all students at Victorian state primary and secondary schools from this term to help reduce distraction, tackle cyber bullying and improve learning outcomes for students.

But Woodmans Hill and Mount Rowan secondary colleges implemented a ban on the use of mobile phones during school hours two years ago and their principals say it has made a big difference to students and staff.

"We recognised a few years ago that use of mobile phones within classrooms was causing distraction from learning and enforced a no personal device rule within the school," said Woodmans Hill principal Stephan Fields.

"What we found is that because of this, learning is more focused, students are more settled and the distractions that can come from the use of multimedia and social media aren't present in our school.

"There might still be those influences outside school, but it contributes less to any sort of disagreements we get inside school."

Students at all state schools throughout Victoria, must switch off their phones and store them securely in their lockers from the start of the school day until the final bell.

The only exceptions to the ban are where students use phones to monitor health conditions, or where teachers instruct students to bring their phone for a classroom activity.

Mount Rowan principal Seona Murnane said the phone ban had also cut down the school's student management workload, allowing staff to put more time and energy in to the learning.

"What we would find is social interactions online would inhibit their learning and they were more focused on what was happening on the phone than what's happening in class. It used to spark off issues, so now we have deleted all those issues.

"If anything happens on social media then it's back on parents to deal with it because it's not during school time. It's cut back our student management workload so we can put more time and energy in to learning of students."

READ THE VICTORIAN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S MOBILE PHONES IN SCHOOLS POLICY HERE

Teachers also act as role models for the phone ban with policy not to use their phones in front of the students.

Mr Fields said instead of students spending time on their phones during recess and lunch, there had been a surge in students borrowing sporting equipment during breaks and the library had become a "hub of students playing board games, computer games, socialising and talking".

And he believes the mobile phone ban will have a positive impact on the future employability of students.

"Our students need to be able to communicate clearly, interact, and socialise which are all skills really important for their future ... skills that are really important for employers," he said.

"What we will see over time is a shift away from our dependency on communicating through devices back to developing those skills."

Victorian education minister James Merlino, who was in Ballarat on Thursday to officially open the new Lucas Primary School, said the mobile phone ban would be a big change for many students.

"The schools that have already implemented a policy of this nature, the first couple of months the kids aren't really happy with the change but what we have seen going back to those schools six months down the track the reduction of distraction within the classroom , the reduction in cyberbullying and the fact kids are engaging with each other out in the playground, this is an important change that will make a difference and really have our kids focused in the classroom and focused on each other in the playground," he said.

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