Expelled... Is the school doing right thing?

[sleepycow]

Not my child. But the children involved are from same friendship groups. Year 11 at school and one of the other pupils informed the school that two boys had smoked cannabis in the school holidays. Cue bag and phone searches, boys were made to write statements and admitted they had done so. Due to the searches others were caught out and boys in question have been expelled. This is not a private school. But is a free school.

They have not done this at school or whilst in uniform. Just seems like a huge over reaction. I don't condone drug use at all, but they are at an age where they are experimenting and probably trying to impress peers. Doesn't mean they are raving drug addicts. I just think there are better ways of dealing with this than to kick them out in their final year of school.

Are the school being unreasonable? Or do you agree they are justified.

No such thing as expulsion - do you mean they had a managed move or went to the PRU?

Odd thing to say, Clionba. It's not called expulsion, but permanent exclusion is the equivalent, and it certainly doesn't follow automatically that a permanently excluded child goes to a PRU.

I’ve just realised this is a free school so will not be so tightly governed by the rules of state run schools.

Free schools are required under their funding agreements to comply with the Department for Education guidance on exclusions in the same way as state schools do.

Excluding children for something done in the holidays is very iffy indeed. These parents would be well advised to challenge the exclusions with the governors and, if necessary, via the Independent Review Panel.

I would be questioning just how these written confessions were obtained. Unless there was actual evidence of drug dealing then the school may have acted illegally if they pressurised these children into making written confessions.

If I were their parents I would want to have absolute confidence that the school had acted within legal parameters and had followed policy to the letter.

Like it or not many kids of this age have smoked cannabis. To exclude them all from school in GCSE year would be a disaster. Full scale dealing is very different.

I think expulsion in the year they take their GCSEs will be very damaging to their prospects. I think a warning/chance should be given at this stage. Educate them about how their life and health will be blighted if they choose cannabis/drugs. I think they would struggle to find school places offering the same GCSE courses and the fallout could make them more likely to use drugs. I think it would be a disproportionate punishment.

I would have thought even the police would not be able to prosecute them if they made a statement to the effect that they smoked lots of joints last week but they had none left and none in their possession.

I would respectively suggest you have been misinformed about there being no evidence of drugs in their bags. I have worked in the pastoral side of schools for donkeys years in lots of schools. I would not dream of checking a child's phone.

These students may have been on their radar for a while and this is the straw that broke the back. In one school I worked in, the permanent exclusion of 10 kids for drugs would have totally changed the school.
It's not a teachers job to solve and investigate crimes-they have enough to do.

Schools are legally allowed to check phones if they reasonably believe they will find evidence of wrong-doing.

The school is clearly failing these boys anyway. Who would be so stupid as to allow school access to their phone, admit it and give a written confession. Id expel them for that regardless of drugs

School was absolutely right even if this is entirely as it seems - and I agree with previous posters that it probably isn't. Drugs are against the law. I'm surprised that people think a preferable outcome is to turn a blind eye. As for what does kicking them out of school achieve, well, perhaps they won't do it again.

We excluded the student because he admitted in the presence of the police that he was dealing. The amount of drugs we found confirmed this. He was permanently excluded. The fact that he was in Y11 was unfortunate for him but excluding him was the right decision.

It's not an odd thing to say Gersemi - only going on what my headteacher friend tells me. She says they don't say expulsion anymore but maybe that's just her school. Thanks for clearing that up about the PRU.

Free schools are a nightmare for many reasons. No way would I send any child of mine to one.

For first offence and if they were smoking (not dealing) I think that's harsh. I also means that they can't continue their education properly so are on a very slippery slope - dabbling in drugs and no education. I don't see how that helps the situation at all, but there are a lot of times our punishment doesn't fit the crime at school e.g. banning a kid who can't sit still going outside at break.

They are still representatives of the school, though it's holiday time. Just as in the adult world how you behave outside of work can have rammifications on your employment status, so it should be in school.

Are you sure they were able to actually go through mobile phones? Surely most people have a security code on their phone, which would be needed. In my school, we can confiscate phones but we most certainly are not permitted to actually look through pupils' messages.

If this is as you say, it sounds very heavy handed. Finding evidence of drugs or paraphenalia is one thing. Excluding them for phone chats during the summer holiday is another. It could be argued by the parents that these texts are simply bravado and role playing and the boys were coerced into confessing. In any case the evidence would be unlikely to stand up in a court of law. If this were my child I’d be very worried about the cannabis smoking but equally also taking this to the governors.

On balance the school clearly have a robust anti drugs policy and they are adhering to that policy. It will send out a very powerful message to all students that drug use in any form at any time is off limits.

I think there is a piece of information missing in this story though. I should think something bigger was identified. Maybe they were supplying drugs to other students? Or reports of other students being coerced into this? I don't believe they have expelled the boys on hearsay.

We also have to consider the impact of keeping the boys in the school on the other students doing their final year and their influence and drug taking could be harmful?

I think this is so ridiculous. It wasn't in school time, they weren't in school uniform and the majority of 16 try a bit of weed.

An huge number of kids try cannabis some time in years 10-11. If all the people who experimented in this way had to leave school, the whole system would fall apart.

If their bags were searched and drugs were found having been bought into school, permanent exclusion is fairly standard. Schools have to protect the other 800 pupils, particularly younger ones. Gangs target yr 10/11 pupils to drop and deal for them. The whole 'county lines' issue has opened up a new can of worms for schools. Grooming isnt just sexual, oftern boys are groomed into gang culture. Excluding the pupil is harsh, but it cuts off a dealing ground and access to other vulnerable pupils for the gang. Im HOY 11. Had a report that one of my boys had smoked weed over the summer. I chatted to him, took a statement and searched him bag as a precaution. Discovered he had been 'hanging out' with known dealers. Contacted parents and got them all some help. However, if I'd found drugs he would have been permanently excluded. No question at all.

The school's behaviour policy will detail what behaviour can lead to a permanent exclusion.

Following a perm exclusion the parents, child and school will attend a review hearing with a panel of governors.

At this panel the governors will decide whether the head teacher has acted lawfully and in accordance with the behaviour policy.

The governors have the power to over turn the exclusion if they find that the head teacher has not acted in accordance with the policy so there will be checks and balances here.

@Fruitbatdancer: nor hiding gun carriages and dynamite in woods (I kid you not).

I'm gobsmacked! Was this in the Wild West (ie Cornwall, as in the Dawn French series. I don't really know the show, but the title always stuck in my mind)?

WilburIsSomePig
Schools can look through phones. Generally staff are told not to look through phones though to protect themselves.

Same with searching bags etc. I've had concerns and needed to bag search so I reported concerns to senior leadership. A member of senior leadership conducted the search whilst I was a witness.

powerwalk
I agree it seems there is a piece of the puzzle missing. Given that schools have been having briefings about 'county lines' as it's now written into new DfE material about safeguarding, Id wonder if school have found evidence linked to something like that.

www.fearless.org/en/campaigns/county-lines

This website explains better than I can, why schools have a zero tolerance stance. We have to protect our pupils. It is unlikely a child would be excluded for doing drugs in the holidays. However, bringing them into school is pretty cut and dried.

Schools can look through phones.

@Maisypops we can't, it's in our mobile phone policy that we can only confiscate, if necessary. I'm not sure how I would feel about looking through a pupil's phone, I suppose it would depend on the 'misdemeanor'.