Are there any parents out there who support smartphones in schools?

I do.

We don’t live in a great area and my DD having a phone on her for the walk to and from school is important to me…and her.

The kids hand the phones in/turn them off and put them away once on school grounds. If they are seen or heard they get confiscated for 2 days then 3 days and so on, will only be handed back to a parent, absolutely fine with that.

Yes, I currently have interaction with my autistic DD when she’s navigating difficult social situations or feeling particularly anxious or stressed. School simply cannot offer the level of support she needs, so it falls to me to offer it throughout the day. If we didn’t have direct communication, it’s likely she wouldn’t be able to attend.

I support off and in bag rules.
I understand why many parents feel the need for them for the journey to and from school.
I don't think they should be used on lessons. But maybe support a place in school a child can go to use the phone in an emergency. Otherwise... turned off.

They can keep them in their bags turned off.

I absolutely do. I wouldn’t send my DC to a school where they don’t allow them (or would put an emergency phone in their bag), because otherwise, they have no means to contact me without having to go through another adult.

I don’t think it’s acceptable to use them in lessons, and they should be on silent so as not to disturb anyone else. But as someone working in school, I would rather deal with the annoyance than the alternative of kids being cut off from the outside. So many things can go wrong- bullying, abuse from staff, panic attacks or mental health struggle, or even a wardrobe malfunction- and being able to contact their parents instead of a member of staff or classmate is, in my opinion, very important.

I do. It was a lifeline for my autistic DC. He would send me loads of texts asking me how to navigate situations/where to go etc.

On the other hand, my dd got a dickpic. I mean - whatever, she can delete it. She values the phone for safety anyway. Her school buildings are not all in one contained compound, she is in the streets during the daytime.

Probably not. I certainly don't, as both a parent and a teacher. There are cases for having access before and after school, but the problems associated with controlling how they would be taken in and given back make a blanket "no" rule the more practical option.

Probably, because many of us had DC who went through school with smartphones allowed as long as switched off for lessons. The exception being the lessons where they were asked to photograph their science experiments.