To refuse to check immigration status of my students

[Nevermay]

Have been informed that as of September, tutors in the comprehensive school where I work will be expected to check the immigration status of students in our tutor groups, particularly new ones, and highlight any suspicious individuals.

I've thought about this for a few weeks, and have decided to simply say no, not my job, I don't have time, I wouldn't recognise a false passport if it bit my ear, and I really don't want to mess up my relationships with my students in their first week in the school. I emailed my union yesterday to inform them of the instruction, and my decision, no response yet, I have spoken to a couple of other colleagues I am friends with, and they are not happy either - I don't know if they will actually refuse, but I suspect so

Would you do it?

Nicky Morgan when she was Ed sec told the Home Office under Theresa May to fuck off when they tried to make passport checks a requirement for schools.

Schools shouldn’t be doing it, why on Earth have you been instructed to?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38165395.amp

fantastic, thank you

Bear in mind that checking their immigration status will also involve checking their age. There are other considerations such as whether a 20yo has access to your class of 17yos.

It may not be your job to check, and I would agree that you need someone experienced in visa fraud to do the checking, but the security of all your pupils is important, not just one or two.

We had somebody from the local authority come round last term (uninvited) on a pretext about something else and try to slip it past the person they met with towards the end of the pointless bit of stuff that was already known about. They were informed that it's not legal and politely ejected escorted from the premises.

Every child (under 18) in England is entitled to an education. I don't think nationality or legal status has anything to do with the right of the child in this country.

I disagree with you here. I don’t think it is your role as the teacher but it is the role of the school - whoever the person doing the admission admin is

This was my understanding too. The immigration status of children is irrelevant - if they are under 16 and in the country they are entitled to education. Schools shouldn't be asking anyone for passports.

And for those working in schools where this might not be known about, here's the FSM for NRPF children guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities/providing-free-school-meals-to-families-with-no-recourse-to-public-funds-nrpf

We have permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), subject to maximum income thresholds.

<snip>

You should record eligible free school meals pupils who qualify through the NRPF criteria in the termly school census, in the same way as all other free school meals pupils.

I regularly scanned passports when I worked in housing, both as ID and also to prove that the person was eligible to join the housing register.Most local authorities ask for a passport or driving licence as ID. I can't see any guidance to say that was illegal.

No way would I do this.

At my GPS surgery they have a big sign which actually says that they won't check the immigration status of patients so people shouldn't worry about accessing healthcare.

I think schools should be the same.

This. Have you asked the school why they are asking teachers to do this and not the admissions team? Who has asked you to do it?

This was my first thought , surely if they reach your classroom it's too late . FWIW I don't think it's your job either

It's all a bit "let me see your papers" isn't it? Also I'd imagine this is very damaging for pupil to teacher trust.

It wasn't illegal for you to - you had a duty to check eligibility for the adult applicants.

OP is in a totally different situation - there is a universal right to education that no one has the right to obstruct. There isn't a universal right to be on the council housing register.

I was specifically talking about the legality of photocopying passports. I can't find any guidance that says it's illegal. If there is a specific reason passports can't be copied in certain situations, I'm interested to know.
We did scan childrens passports too, again for ID, the same way I would have scanned a birth certificate.

Teachers are Border Control Officers now are they? Yet another job to add to the list.
Surely the school must know this is illegal in the UK and definitely unethical anyway.

Very different though. People accessing NHS services they are not entitled to is illegal whereas the law is very clear about the rights of the children.

Good morning class, vere are your papers?

Did you actually read my post? Your response reads like you interpreted it as the opposite of what I meant.

@Valeriekat even more reason then that people need to be confident that their children can attend school, which is their absolute right, without fear.

@loislovesstewie - ah I see what you're getting at and did some googling for clarification. It seems that a lot of publicly accessible photocopiers in libraries and shops have their own rules against copying passports but those are management decisions because the management don't want to take responsibility for ensuring that the copying is being done according to the regulations. They may and often do have signs up saying no photocopying of passports.

The actual regulations aren't that it's not allowed, but that the person doing the copying must have a legitimate reason to need it, must have signed written permission of the passport holder to take the copy and must keep the copy under high security conditions as it is sensitive personal data.

It's quite normal for official purposes to need to do this and they will comply with these rules as a matter of course. Schools do not have a legitimate reason because even a child who is in the country illegally still has an absolute right to an education.

No this is the problem when racists vote racists in. Our populist government loves introducing hare brained schemes that appeal to their vote base.

Op, you are right. It's not your job. Thank you for taking a stand.

Is this not a safeguarding risk? Could it mean some children disappear off the radar? What if a child wants to confide in a teacher because they have a problem but would be scared to in case their immigration status is discovered?

@JaukiVexnoydi , many thanks for that. As I say we scanned everything, so details were held electronically , I think most L/As do that and our legal advisors advised us that it was perfectly legal to do so. My point was solely asking about the actual legal status of copying.Not about anyone accessing education.

It’s not the passports you need to check. It’s their leave to remain. And it’s to protect the child and their family (and to get things like visas and biometrics updated) - because the police can and have taken children from school when leave to remain has elapsed and it’s been distressing for everyone. Example: a friend’s company didn’t submit a visa extension in time, the entire family was escorted by police from where they were to a flight back to India, and while they are back now the children still need counselling more than a year later. This could have been supported better had the school realised the leave to remain was running out.