To say school went too far suspending him for a vape

Many people are vaping when they would never have started smoking

Schools have to provide work/links to school work for first 5 days of suspension. Feel he may be lying if he says he hasn’t received any

If OP lets him do that then more fool her.

Rules are there for a reason, I don't think the school went too far on suspending your son from school for 3 days , as a banned item was taken into school he only had himself to blame no sympathy.

He'd love it sat infront of the tv all day vaping eating and sleeping

Change the wifi password
Remove the xbox if necessary
Take his phone

etc

It would be the most boring 3 days of his life.

OP doesn't work anyway.

And how do you do that if you work full time so aren't at home all day.

Of course it is if you make it a punishment.

It's all a bit, yeah but no but

I think it must have depended on what school you went to.
Smoking was a definite and immediate suspension in my school. I left school in the mid nineties.

The idea of a suspension is twofold. Firstly, it gives the school - the teachers, and above all, other students, a break from that student's behaviour.
Secondly, it makes the parent aware of a serious problem that they have to engage with. They're inconvenienced, the child is at home, they have to attend a readmittance meeting.
Believe me, many parents who have been somewhat laissez faire in their approach to parenting, often step up after this.

Of course they should be discouraged no one is encouraging kids to smoke or vape but at the same time let a child stay at home for 3 days isnt a punishment

Ours did detention lunchtime and after school and litter picking thats a much better punishment then letting someone stay home for 3 days

"and I can’t exactly sit and do algebra with him cos I don’t even understand it myself"

Why did you have children in the first place?

I will email them to see if they can send stuff home cos otherwise he will just sit there bored

Don’t do that. Your child’s teachers should not have to prepare work children can complete without having teacher input first. Nor should anyone have to try and coordinate between the different subject teachers overnight so that you don’t have to bother making him do chores or find any other work for him.

My son's school has a zero tolerance on vapes, smoking and drugs. Automatic suspension for several day, for vaping/smoking. The policy your son's school has is standard, across a good proportion of secondary schools. Personally, I don't think it's harsh, it will teach your son a lesson, follow the rules. A girl at my son's secondary school brought in weed, a small amount, she was permanently excluded. Ask the school if they can provide you with work for your son for the days he's off, and remove the Xbox.

If you can think of other, legal methods that schools haven't thought of so far, do drop them a line.

In what way were they rude?
You took one off him. He got another. So that didn't work.
What would you say was a reasonable sanction?
Doesn't matter if he doesn't smash windows etc as that's not why he's been suspended
If the policy is 3 days that's what it is

"Everyone's doing it". "It's not just me".

Those age-old arguments for not being punished when you break rules, eh?

Parent your child and take his X Box away. Make the suspension have an IMPACT on him.

Ffs you can’t seriously be comparing a child eating a bar of chocolate with vaping?? 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Tobacco is tobacco, we don't know what is in the vapes. They should be discouraged from doing either.

Because suspension isnt a punishment they would be better giving him detention

You are minimising your son’s behaviour. Most children are not cheeky. Most children follow the rules and most parents are supportive.
If your son plays on his XBox whilst suspended then that is on your you. It sounds like you are passing on the responsibility of parenting your son with clear boundaries to someone else. If you don’t sort this now you will be in real trouble in a couple of years.

Schools are required to set work for students who are suspended - he can do this and not be on his Xbox. He can also use the time to get on the many free websites out there and watch tutorials to catch up on the learning he is behind on.

They reek of vape now, various sickly sweet smells. Sometimes cannabis

Well, you have to have an equally applied behaviour policy. It's clear.
It's fairly standard in all secondary schools re: vaping. They're caught with a vape, they're suspended.
Perhaps on lower level matters, eg not having equipment, you'd let someone off if they were a first offender, it's true. Not vaping though.