School rules about phones.

Seeker, I don't pretend to have all the answers. I guess if I were in your position and mobiles were not an option then I would agree a 'latest' time and collect from a set point then.
We are luckily within walking distance of school- it's a community school so home to school distance is a major entry criteria. If ds wants to stay for an activity, he is permitted to use the office phone to call me. Otherwise we discuss in advance what time I would like him home, allowing for distractions stops along the way.
Island- I agree not many phone boxes around anymore.

Also marriednotdead, back in the "old days" there were lots of public telephone boxes, one on every corner that seekers's dd could have used instead as I often did when doing various journeys to anf from school and activities.

Now they are hard to find, even in town centres.

The school dd wants to go to from September has a ban on mobiles (well they can be handed in at reception). She is planning to have a cheapo one in her bag - as she will be cycling a fair distance along country lanes to get there I feel she does need an emergency communication method in case she breaks down. In those circumstances I have no problem with her breaking the rules as long as she's completely discrete about it (I'm happier with it being in her bag rather than handed in as then it won't be forgotten which it might well be otherwise).

Really seeker I think the way forward is to encourage your dd to have a less black & white view of the world & do the same.

The school my ds attends has a blanket ban on phones, which I support. The head's reasoning apart from the obvious is that children carrying expensive electrical equipment (ipods etc too) are more vulnerable to being mugged than without.
In extreme one-off circumstances they can be brought in and handed into the office for the day.
If a phone is confiscated, it will only be returned to the parent at the end of TERM.

They don't need them in school amothers, but in these days of less local schools and more children having to travel miles away to larger amalgamated sites often on public transport they can be very useful.

If you were in a school with a "relaxed2 attitude to mobiles you would know why they school has changed its policy. Kids are constantly texting, girls tend to store them in their bras (which I find nearly as disgusting as boys trousers). Phones do get switched on accidentally. Girls can be cyber bullying others in the same class during the school day. Most phones have cameras which also creates a huge security risk and breach of privacy.

Why do they need phones in school at all is what I want to know.

seeker

I think I would join that thread!

DDs school has rule about phones in lockers but everyone keeps them switched off and well hidden in bags. Just removes all possible excuses if one does appear i.e. can't claim it is off, or just checking, as an excuse when not meant to be in bag at all. Makes life much easier for teachers so am all for it.

I'm with Raven here. If it's turned off & well concealed at the bottom of her bag who's to know/care.

At the rough scary high school that my DS4 goes to there are no bans on mobiles - just not allowed to use them during lessons. this week on Facebook at least a dozen of them are posting status' and there have been two fairly long videos of a lesson as well!!!! I was delighted to see that, in the video, my DS was hard at work and didn't even seem to notice the mayhem around him, in fact he was shocked that it was on Facebook .....I wouldn't be a teacher at a high school for all the tea in China and I take my hat off to anybody who does.

seeker

why does your dd need a phone at school?

could she not manage without on games days?

Our school rule is that phones have to be turned off and locked in lockers for the duration of the school day. There is no stampede at the end of the day - they have to sort their books anyway, and we dismiss our pupils in our school, so they have to return to their locker base for that.

They simply don't need phones in school. If they need to phone home, they go to reception and are always allowed.

Phones in school are a real nuisance on many levels. With a lot of kids having smartphones now, they can use websites that are specifically banned on the school network, eg Facebook.

Cyberbullying is a huge problem, and schools should take steps to minimise this happening in school.

Ours is out of sight and switched off - which is usually at bottom of bags, although some of the girls wear small shoulder bags under their blazers.
No useage at all during school hours - although this does get breached with some teachers that cannot control their classes.
At previous school, juniors (up to year 8) had to hand them (named) into the offce, and collect after hours. Never a problem as they only had 36 in a year group, with staggered leaving times.

We're bringing a new policy in after half term in the school I teach at. Kids have been taking the piss more and more - particularly now that most of them have phones with internet access. School internet access to site like hotmail and FB is filtered, so they just use their phones instead. I caught a girl using her phone to check her FC account in a lesson I was covering this week. So we're having a blanket ban - no phones out at all during the school day (don't have lockers, so turned off and in bags) If students are caught with phones out/on/making noises at all then they are taken off them and taken to reception where they can only collect them at the end of the day.

OP - it sounds very much like a number of students at your DDs school have been taking the piss in a similar manner, so the school has had no option but to take a blanket approach.

I think it is a good idea to have them in their lockers all day as there would be too much temptation to just have a peek and see if you had any texts if they had thier phones in their bags. I know i would not be able to stop myself from having a sneaky look and if I had got a text I would then want to read it and then reply to it and so on.

I agree that the logistics of them getting phones at the end of the day might be an issue but they will have to sort that of it becomes a problem.

Experience of 2 secondary schools here and at neither do you have to hand your phone into the office or leave it in lockers (not enough lockers to go round, but that's another story).
Wouldn't be suprised if it was more of a camera issue than a phone one...I'm amazed the number of photos I see on the boys phones obviously taken during lesson time.

I'm going to be cynical here.

What this really means is:

'We have a policy of phones in bags, which is being regularly flouted & time is being wasted arguing with stroppy little madams claiming that they were "just checking it's switched off", or "using the calculator". We are bringing this new rule in - which will obviously be honoured more in the breach than the observance - so that our gels know not to get their phones out of their bags in sight of a teacher. At all'

So long as your dds' phones are at the bottom of a bag, bothering no-one, I really doubt there'll be anyone conducting searches!

I doubt it is possible to trust all pupils not to use their phones during the day. Seems fair enough to me to leave them in lockers.

I thik the sudden change sounds like there has been some sort of incident and unfortunately the minority occasionally spols it for the majority.

Perhaps you could send a short note in asking if the shuttle buses are going to take accountof this and wait a little longer.

And schools have a specific legal responsibility now to deal with cyber-bullying.