To think it is ridiculous that the school have confiscated MY phone????

[Slipperyslopin]

DS (14) was going out last night with a friend to see a movie after school. He didn't know when it ended and then we couldn't find it on the website so I told him to take his phone so he could call me afterwards and I could collect him. He told me his phone wasn't charged, so I gave him my one. He is very trustworthy and careful and I knew he wouldn't lose it, besides I'm not on call at the moment so I wouldn't need it during the day, and I'd rather he had a way to contact me if needed. During school the phone turned on in his pocket (Iphones ) and an alert went off for an update or something. His teacher heard it and confiscated the phone as they are not allowed in school, even if off. DS then had to call me from the office to say he would use his friends phone instead. All fine, fair enough I thought. However I then found out that the school policy is to keep the phone for a fortnight. I have unpredictable shift patterns and I actually do need that phone back, it has important work contacts on and is the number I am generally contacted on by whole family as we don't have a landline atm. So I went in and explained the situation and they REFUSED to return it! They've said they're keeping it for the full 2 weeks. I told them, it's a work phone, it has confidential stuff on it, it has all my work contacts and is an emergency number for DH on his passport, and as he is in France at the moment I needed that phone back. They just kept repeating that it is policy and they can't return it, I even had the head teacher tell me this! Surely it's against the law! I need that phone and they WILL NOT return it to me! What should I do? Can I get some form of legal action done here? This feels a hell of a lot like theft to me. I'm so beyond angry at them, any advice?

sorry, should be a comma in there

Esp funny is the suggestion that if u dont like school policies u should choose a diff school! Ha ha! As if!

What's funny about that?

Cool beans op.

S'not a recordable offence of theft because there is no intention to permanently deprive on the part of the school. However, when I worked for the police I would have accepted a report from the Op because as far as I'm concerned, it's theft. Would then have been up to a more senior bod to decide whether to continue with it or drop it as it's not recordable.

Just sayin'. I don't know much but I do know my recordable offences!!

"How would you deal with mobile phones in schools?"

Honestly, as I parent I wouldn't let DS take it in, as a teacher I would keep until the end of the day requiring a parent to sign it out. Ensures the parents are aware that the phone is causing a distraction and inconveniences the parents in that they must come to the school and pick it up, deeply uncool to have the rentals around in high school apparently.

It seems a reasonable compromise to swap it for the boy's phone, but perhaps the OP will heed the policy in future and make her son do the same.

And if I had a personal phone with work data on it I'd be sacked. Work phones should be encrypted and only used by the designated user in order to comply with information governance requirements. I can't imagine why the OP was so stupid and irresponsible to let her son have the phone at all.

What's funny is that in many areas, 'choosing' a school just isn't possible. Either because of oversubscription, (around here you just think yourself lucky if you get any of the 5 schools off your list) but I realise that in rural areas, there simply isn't a choice.

bravo IamLouisWalsh - we don't want to take the damn phones - we just want to be able to do our jobs.

It's amazing anyone ever coped as a teen without a mobile phone.

They are incredibly disruptive in lessons. I have had students choose an internal exclusion over handing a phone over. Parents who defend their child's "right" to have a phone in school don't help.

In my school, phones are taken for the rest of the day for a first offense, and then after than parents have to come and collect it. I like the parents who don't find that they have "time" to do so for a day or two (or three)

Getting a parent to sign sounds like a really good idea. This must be really inconvenient esp at high school so I presume is effective.

Ilovesooty I think the laugh is over the opportunity to 'choose' schools. In many areas there is no actual choice just the opportunity to go to the one you've been given a place at rather than home school.

Only effective where parenting is effective. Some kids have their parents wrapped round their little fingers [states the bleeding obvious]

YANBU
I would turn up at the school desk in person and demand it was returned instantly, or I was ringing the police and having them done for theft.

I'm very glad to say the DDs school are very sensible and accept that DCs living complex lives need their phones.

You simply get detention if it's heard or seen in a lesson.

Cortana
so as a teacher you would confiscate the phone "stealing it" from the student?

According to the ATL (education union) its unlawful to NOT return valuble items should the parent request so at the end of the school day, a iphone would be concidered to be a valuble item.

Dc's school have a policy whereby you have to turn your phone in to reception at the beginning of the day and collect it before you go home, thereby avoiding the problem of lessons being disrupted. If you forget to do so, then you have to face the consequences. Makes sense to me.

I'd confiscate it, drop it in at the school office & leave it up to them whether to return it - as a teacher, that's my job done. Out of my hands when the kid gets it back.

Our office have a record of who's had a phone confiscated, & repeat offenders have their parents rung to collect it.

Two week confiscation seems a tad OTT to me, but as a parent in the OP's circs, I think I'd be doing as OP did - acknowledging that it was my mistake in giving ds my work phone, & then going to to swap it for ds's phone. So, all sorted in this case, & school have in fact been perfectly reasonable.

Yes Boney, there needs to be a balance between school rules and rights. Although if the parents were to turn up immediately I would be happy to hand the phone over.

The teacher cannot physically take the phone from the student and it has to be willingly handed over and kept safe. As the child would have willingly handed over the phone I would not consider it theft.

Once the parent (in this case the OP) requested her property back and was refused that is the point at which I would consider it theft.

I am struggling to see how anyone could not appreciate the difference between something being confiscated for the duration of a lesson or the school day and the refusal to return someone's property for two weeks.

(would like to clarify I am not a teacher, but someone asked how Captain and those who agreed with him/her thought it should be dealt with and I answered how I would from the viewpoint of parent and teacher)

At dd's school they get detention if the phone is heard or seen. The students switch them off.

I wouldn't give dd my work phone because it is in use all the time, and it never stops ringing.

I have an old payg phone that is the back up for times when a spare phone is needed.

Cody - our school office totted up the rough value of all theohones handed in (bearing in mind only applied to year 6s with parental permission as is primary) and came to the conclusion that insurance was a possible issue. Basically, the office staff just didn't feel comfortable being responsible for theohones and I don't blame them - they've got better things to be doing.

I imagine it would be a nightmare at secondary level.

Now the school has a don't hear don't see policy. If a child has a phone (some did if they were doing a long journey home) it must be kept out of sight and silent.

Aargh - cory NOT Cody!

op - YANBU - however sadly this is not theft as the school do not wish to permanently deprive you of it -they will give it back after two weeks so no intention to keep it on a permanent basis.

Cortana

But what if the child won't hand the phone over?
Its more disruption, for those that want to learn.

according to some on here confiscating is theft, minute, hour, day doewn't matter, posters have said that they would be "demanding" the phone back.

and according to some on here children need their phones as it is a right.

So why does a child need a phone at school?
and
Why does a child need an expensive phone at school?

BTW not having a go its just others haven't responded.

I'm taken aback by a lot on this thread tonight!
I teach in a secondary school and we have had a phones poicy for a long time which works well; phones are allowed (how can you seriously stop them? phones can be quite useful too!) in school but must be switched off and put in bags during lessons.
Consequence if phone pings / rings in lesson = confiscated and must be collected from Head of Year at end of the day.
repeat offenders = phone must be collected by parent.
Students understand and appreciate these rules and abide by them for the most part.
On the odd occasion (and I mean very rarely these days) it's just a mild interruption as far as I'm concerned - kids look round going "oooohhh whose phone was that?" owner of phone goes bright red, admits it was theirs, apologises and puts it on my desk. End of story.
School keeping phone for two weeks is control freakery. Absurd.

on the other hand there is no way I would give my DS my phone !

Good lord! Teachers really are above the law

This is long, but the bits relevant to this thread are in bold.
From www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f0076897/screening-searching-and-confiscation

Screening, searching and confiscation

Searching

School staff can search a pupil for any item if the pupil agrees.

Headteachers and staff authorised by them have a statutory power to search pupils or their possessions, without consent, where they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the pupil may have a prohibited item.
Prohibited items are:
? knives or weapons
? alcohol
? illegal drugs
? stolen items
? tobacco and cigarette papers
? fireworks
? pornographic images
? any article that the member of staff reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be used:
i) to commit an offence
ii) to cause personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the pupil)

Headteachers and authorised staff can also search for any item banned by the school rules which has been identified in the rules as an item which may be searched for.

Confiscation

School staff can seize any prohibited item found as a result of a search. They can also seize any item, however found, which they consider harmful or detrimental to school discipline.

The power to seize and confiscate items ? general

What the law allows:

? Schools? general power to discipline, as set out in Section 91 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, enables a member of staff to confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil?s property as a disciplinary penalty, where reasonable to do so.

? The member of staff may use their discretion to confiscate, retain and/or destroy any item found as a result of a ?with consent? search so long as it is reasonable in the circumstances. Where any article is thought to be a weapon it must be passed to the police.

? Staff have a defence to any complaint or other action brought against them. The law protects members of staff from liability in any proceedings brought against them for any loss of, or damage to, any item they have confiscated provided they acted lawfully.

Statutory guidance for dealing with electronic devices

1. Where the person conducting the search finds an electronic device they may examine any data or files on the device if they think there is a good reason to do so. Following an examination, if the person has decided to return the device to the owner, or to retain or dispose of it, they may erase any data or files, if they think there is a good reason to do so.

1. The member of staff must have regard to the following guidance issued by the Secretary of State12 when determining what is a ?good reason? for examining or erasing the contents of an electronic device:

? In determining a ?good reason? to examine or erase the data or files the staff member must reasonably suspect that the data or file on the device in question has been, or could be, used to cause harm, to disrupt teaching or break the school rules.

1. If inappropriate material is found on the device it is up to the teacher to decide whether they should delete that material, retain it as evidence (of a criminal offence or a breach of school discipline) or whether the material is of such seriousness that it requires the involvement of the police.