AIBU to ask if school can go through my son's phone?

[ejk10]

This hasn't happened to my son yet -but he thinks it might, and happened to some of his friends today.

Apparently a child has made a statement which the school is investigating (none of the boys have been told what the complaint is) and a teacher demanded to look through this boy's phone and deleted some information. My son has not been questioned but is friends with those who have been and is wondering if the school would ask to look at his phone.

I'm not sure of the legalities of this. Part of me thinks if he has nothing wrong why worry if they look - another part of me thinks it is a huge invasion of privacy. My son assures me he has done nothing wrong - regardless of whether he has or not I'm questioning if they have the right to look through private data.

Can anyone shed any light?

Think our school did this to a pupil, WhatsApp thread slagging off a teacher.

They cant. They'll try, threaten, etc etc, but legally they cant. It comes under the 'right to family life'. Make sure he has a PIN on his phone. If they confiscate it, are you available to pick it up? Quite simply tell him to say it's your phone he's using, and you don't give permission to go through your data and images. That's enough to get them to back off.

They cannot - the pupil has to hand it over with consent.

Yes it is allowed. And schools do not have to inform parents of searches.

This info from childlawadvice.org.uk

What powers does a school have to examine electronic devices?
If an electronic device is found, the member of staff may examine any data or files on the device if they think there is good reason to do so.

Following an examination, if staff have decided to return, keep or dispose of the device, they may erase any data or files if they consider there is a good reason to do so. When determining a ‘good reason’ to examine or erase the data or files, staff must reasonably suspect that the data or file has been, or could be, used to cause harm, to disrupt teaching or break school rules.

Whenever inappropriate material is found, it is for the member of staff to decide if the material should be deleted, kept as evidence of an offence/ breach of school rules or passed to the police. Staff should take into account any guidance provided by the school policies.

I think they can now. The law has changed do that schools now have the power to search children without parents consent. I’m assuming a phone falls under the same catagory, although if parents pay for the phone contract, one could argue, the phone belongs to the parents, not the child. I’m unsure if this was implied the school would be able to search the phone.
Could you call the school and gain some clarification?

The student needs to hand the phone over. If they refuse schools can contact police if they have concerns.

How old is your son?

Yes they can because its first level Safeguarding and Child Protection proticol.

You can refuse, so they'd escalate it to SS and possibly the Police.

The School looking through a phone is better than being arrested, or SS investigations, you'd do your Son a favour if you explained that.

Just tell him to leave his phone at home til it blows over.

They can't if he doesn't have his phone with him. Would be be ok to not take it in for a while?

"It comes under the 'right to family life'."

No it doesn't, if a crime is suspected and when it's a minor. Safeguarding or criminal law takes over from the HRA.

What @Tulips said

Legally they cannot force the child to delete anything they do not want to.

The police cannot force anyone to delete anything without a court order unless terrorism related, I think.

They can search a phone but they have absolutely no right to delete ANYTHING.

Yes they do. See page 13 of the guidance here. Schools can delete if they feel appropriate.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/674416/Searching_screening_and_confiscation.pdf

Aslong as he has a pin on it, they can't do anything. They can't make him give them the pin.

He should point blank refuse.

OP, what springs to mind is the distribution of child abuse images, or what your Son and his friends might think of as, a picture of one of the Girls at School breasts/genitals, or even one of the boys.

It could be revenge porn, except it wouldn't be, if it involves an minor.

It could be a bullying/assault video, doing the rounds.

What if your child was the victim?

Before everyone goes all 'civil liberties', think it through.

As a parent, it would concern me more that my dc felt worried to hand over the phone - that would suggest there was something on it that could get them into trouble.
Secondly, yes they can if there is a suspicion of intimidating, grooming or abusing another student using a phone.
And quite right too, IMO.

"Aslong as he has a pin on it, they can't do anything. They can't make him give them the pin."

They just give it to the Police instead. Who unlock it instantly. So it gets even bigger than it needs to be and the Lads involved learn nothing.

How many of the people here starting their posts with the word ‘legally’ actually know what you’re talking about?!

They can't 'make' him give them the pin but of course if there's inappropriate images they can hand it over to the police.

My SIL (head teacher) had this with some little shit who'd 'up skirted' loads of young women walking up the stairs and posted it on YouTube.

He refused to give the pin, the parents were nobheads too yelling about privacy etc.

Handed to police, original emailed video found on it - caution, expelled etc.

Yes they can. They have the legal power to remove phones, search them for content and delete content and they can pass things to the police too.

It’s in this guidance: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/674416/Searching_screening_and_confiscation.pdf

They don’t need your, or your child’s, consent.

Having read the guidance I'm still unsure what a good reason would be for the teacher to delete files or data on the phone

"In determining a ‘good reason’ to examine or erase the data or files the staff member should 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. "

Child abuse images = referral to police not delete the evidence

So what would the teacher be deleting?

SIL deleted a video the kid took of the teacher teaching and other pupils acting up at one point.

I can think of loads of things they might delete that are about other people's privacy (not necessarily safe guarding)

What would they be deleting? Pictures of the teacher. Recordings/videos of the classroom. Images which aren’t sexual but could be used for bullying, such as of someone doing someth8ng unfortunate like tripping, looking silly etc.
Lots of things, really.

So what would the teacher be deleting?

Most likely videos of other pupils or staff members taken without their consent, particularly those designed to humiliate those individuals.