School lost DS' phone

[ICancelledTheCheque]

I could use some perspective on how to handle this please.

Background - blended family, DHs children live with us. They aren't keen on sleeping over at their mums but they do it once a week. We gave them both our old phones when our contracts were up so they could stay in touch with us. They're 10, in Y6.

That means that once a week they have to take their phones into school. School have a rule that they have to be handed in to the office in the morning and collected in the afternoon.

However SDS phone has gone missing and wasn't there to collect on Friday afternoon.

The school basically just require the kids to place them in a drawer and it's transpired that they don't supervise them collecting the phones at the end of the day so anyone could take anyone's phone.

I can't help but think that if the school want to impose a rule that the children can't look after their own property, they should take reasonable steps to look after the phones on behalf of the kids! I feel that they've been negligent in allowing it to be lost or stolen.

The phone is worth £120. Should the school pay for it or do we just accept it's one of those things and suck it up?

[MistresssIggi]

If taken accidentally, what would the child or parents do with it when they realise? If schools shut etc.

[Yokohamajojo]

Our school has the same system, Y6 children are allowed to walk home from school on their own so of course most of them have a phone for that reason!

Hope it gets sorted

[ICancelledTheCheque]

Mistress when you put an iPhone into lost mode it says something like "I'm lost, press the green button to call my owner". Which would have then called DHs phone.

[MistresssIggi]

I have an iPhone. I know nothing if that and wouldn't get beyond the "type your number" screen if it was locked. I would try to call school and if no one there give up and wait till it reopened.

[SoupDragon]

If the phone has been ringing out until it died, I would think it is lost not stolen. If it was stolen, the first thing someone would do is turn it off, especially if it kept ringing.

[PersianCatLady]

I think if the school has taken it upon themselves to have possession of the phone, then they need to be liable for looking after said phone when it's in their office
Actually I would have thought that the school's policy was more likely to be no phones at all and in trying to accommodate the OP's situation they have come up with this rather ineffective solution.

TBH if I were in charge at the school from now on the policy would just be ABSOLUTELY NO PHONES and if you do bring one to school and it gets lost then it is not the school's problem.

[WhatchaMaCalllit]

Did the school find your sons phone OP?