Think this school policy is ridiculous

[sadbutdontknowwhy]

Secondary school
DS15 has had his phone confiscated for the 3rd time this term.
Absolutely fine, he shouldn't have had it out so deserves the punishment
However, they won't give it back to him at 3.15. A parent has to go and collect it.
Tried to explain that 1, it means one of us leaving work, and 2, he needs it to access the gym straight after school, and 3, it his property but they won't budge. It stays with school until a parent can collect
In no way am I kicking off about the confiscation, but I'm fuming I'm also being punished as well!
Arghhhhh. Rant over.

Anisette - that is very funny. Some people do live in their own little bubbles! Making the police lives a misery?? They will have a jolly good laugh over you and your claim. They cannot even come out to proper break ins. Why on earth would they listen to the rantings of someone about a mobile phone which is at school and you just cannot be bothered to pick up!

Well, no. Generations of children have managed to get themselves home every school day without incident despite not having phones. What, after all, is a parent at work going to be able to do about a child being followed? Much better to educate them about walking with someone else, going into a shop if they're worried, etc.

Some modern blood-glucose monitors work with phones. That kid needs a laminated pass to save trouble.

A member of my team has just asked me for an early finish to pick up her son's phone from school! She asked me at 1pm to finish at 2.15 and I've had to say no because we're so busy for anything non emergency at such short notice.

Shouting "It's the policy" is no answer, no matter how many full stops you put in your sentences. What is relevant is the law. In this case the law allows confiscation within certain parameters (e.g. publicising the relevant rule and any consequences), and you don't know whether it has complied with those parameters.

Also, clearly it isn't the policy for phones to be kept in bags, given that they are used in lessons.

The first time I've heard of any medical condition that requires a mobile phone.
What did people with this condition do before they were invented?

see how diabetes equipment has changed over the last 20 years - its quite incredible and such a bonus for dc with T1 diabetes

I teach at a school with the same policy.

See it/Hear it/Lose it. It's very straightforward.

If a child hands their phone over immediately and apologises straight away I usually let them pick it up themselves. If their child kicks up a fuss over it then the parent has to pick it up.

If they refuse to hand it over they go to isolation.

Unfortunately you do get kids who think they're better and more entitled than others who think their above the rules. Thankfully this is a minority and most parents are really supportive of the rules.

Yes it's massively inconvenient, but the policy is very clear and your son knew the consequences, so its him alone you should be annoyed with and not the school.

Instead of thinking how much it's inconveniencing you, spare a thought for how much your son is inconveniencing his teacher and the other children in his class by refusing to follow a simple rule. Every time your son has his phone out the teacher has to break off from teaching, waste time confiscating it, and then presumably got to the school office and complete some form of paperwork.

God, another poster lacking basic comprehension skills.

It's right there in the opening post: "Absolutely fine, he shouldn't have had it out so deserves the punishment". How hard can that be to understand?

This lad clearly cannot follow the policies. When he goes into the world of work he will get a big shock. Unless of course his Mum storms into the Dept Head complaining. That assumes he has a job. I interviewed someone a few years ago and their phone rang. The silly moo told me to hang on and to pause the interview. She said it was urgent but of course it always is.....

Needless to say she didnt get the role. It was a part time admin role and they were like gold dust. I am still wondering if she thinks she did anything wrong.

I occasionally allow phone use - not the phone parts, but the camera to take a picture of the board if interesting things have been written on it as part of a discussion, especially if copying is difficult for a child due to SEN.
Or to google something if someone in a group discussion asks an interesting question (though I usually google for them). Just occasionally an educational game like Blookit if they don’t have another device (I’d usually book laptops/tablets but sometimes one is out of charge or broken so not everyone can have one).
It’s very clear though. I say, ‘You can take your phone out and use it for x but then put it away again please’.
Im not sure this is confusing or causing any grey areas.

This is why your kids would need to keep their phone in their pocket, locker or bag during the school day so it is not confiscated and they can use it for walks home etc. It really isn't rocket science. The school is not banning phones on site, it is trying to tackle misuse.

I have been filmed in lessons and then had tiktoks made about me and know that kids have made unflattering videos of other kids. They message each other in class and arrange to leave classes at the same time to go and vape in the toilets. They listen to wireless headphones connected to their phones. They are banned and confiscated because they massively impact on teaching, learning and behaviour.

It is not an arbitrary policy but designed to be a deterrent to using their phones and for them to learn self control.

Glad schools are not backing down on standards- he’s had 3 chances

This is what we’ve now requested as the teachers don’t seem to all be aware. To be fair to them maybe they’ve not come across it before and think she’s trying her luck but she’s also autistic so can be very blunt in her response may seem rude even but she just knows she has to keep her phone on her. I thin that’s why some teachers have got angry.

OK, so this post is gonna be a mix of common sense and a wish to flame the school (I am not a parent, but am getting a bit fed up with some schools thinking they can steal property, deny kids access to toilets, etc etc)

The sensible bit.
What is the actual wording of the policy? I can't believe the word 'parent' actually appears there with no qualifiers, cos what of those kids with no parents?

So there HAS to be an alternate to a parent. Can't you appoint a friend/neighbour/whatever to be this alternate and pick the bloody thing up? They will need a thank-you present, of course (son should pay for that).

The flame bit
If school won't agree to this, send a letter before action notifying them that they appear to have stolen your property and court proceedings will follow if the phone is not received by end of term.

Sorry, I don't pretend to be level headed ALL the time. But hoping option 1 resolves the issue.

Sorry, I did miss this.
This is a very gentle approach and I like that, but it would be really disruptive if multiple kids were taking phones out and needing this kind of sanction in every lesson.
Also, if they want to use their phones they might as well risk it, as the punishment is fairly minor and it is possible to sneak your phone out and not be seen.
Those who are there to learn and not use phones would be missing lesson time constantly.

The shouting was to a particular poster who wasn’t listening.
It is clear it’s legal as many schools have the policy and the legal guidelines indicate the same.
It’s policy for phones not to be used. As with many things, someone in authority is allowed to vary the rules from time to time if it is to everyone’s advantage. You know, like work places finishing at lunch time in Christmas Eve, say, when policy is they close at 5.

Instead of confiscating the phone couldn't they just exclude him for a couple of days.

I stopped reading the replies when I saw the perfect parents emerging. Boring.

@sadbutdontknowwhy I agree, it's unreasonable not to give the phone back. Could you pick it up first thing in the morning before work?

It would be stupid and self-defeating to leave it until January ffs. Sometimes you need to be able to communicate with them.

My 18 yo got literally chased round a room by an idiot teacher trying to confiscate their phone days before finishing school. DC quite rightly refused. School hadn't started for the day and all the kids were on their phones!!

Hahahahahahahaha, and the award for mother of the year goes to......

Why not sue them 😂😆😂😆😂

People keep talking about schools not allowing learners to use the toilet. Well, that’s bollocks. They can use the toilets at designated times. This is because the toilets need to be manned by staff. There’s not enough staff to man them for every minute of the school day.

They need to be manned for safeguarding reasons. Also because, in some cases, learners damage the toilets so often, the school simply can’t afford to keep paying for repairs. So they have no choice but to restrict their access. But no school doesn’t allow toilet access at all, all day.

Given that it's the Christmas holidays I think it's completely unreasonable. And it's not just about whether he is missing the phone, it's about you wanting him to have it. People who say we didn't have phones in the old days - of course we didn't, but there were phone boxes everywhere and everyone had a landline. That is not the case these days. They should give him the phone back and give him a detention instead if necessary.

Yeah or vaping in them!!

Can you somehow get a printed version of his gym entrance ticket to him? If he keeps having the phone confiscated then maybe that is an alternative?

Pretty much every school has the same rule and ALL the students know how it works.