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.

Do you not see how deliberately annoying the parent might have precisely the reverse effect than intended, and may well have cost them hours in volunteer time? I can absolutely assure you that any school that believes it has a right to take my kids phone outside of school hours will not benefit from that decision.

In this instance the school closes tomorrow at 3:15pm, so there is a bit of a rush.

You do realise that’s the point?!

Read the link upthread - the WHOLE LINK. Based on that link and the=e info on this thread we do not know if the confiscation was legal or illegal.

There is a difference in a school environment. Where I worked, parents had to agree before photographs or videos could be taken of pupils. In my local authority, if parents didn't sign a consent form, then pupils could not appear in pictures or school videos.

The existence of the CCTV cameras were clearly indicated in school notices. All of this is very different from someone using a private phone or camera to take a photograph of someone unawares.

Why CCTV? It helped to stop vandalism (or in some cases to identify the culprit). As I think someone else has already said on here, it was also there to protect both staff and pupils. In my old school, it only operated in corridors.

Thankyou it’s such a horrible combination of things to have isn’t it we have really struggled some days 😞 we are very proud of her though

It’s the end of term, that’s the issue here. They won’t get the phone back until January otherwise.

No, bullying is wrong. I am saying that it is important to realize that there is no human right not to be photographed.

I mean... we know this anyway, but I'm not sure why you think it's particularly so important for teachers to note this. Do you think that we should ditch our safeguarding policies and our phone and safe ICT policies on the grounds that nobody has a right to privacy, so what's the point of making rules? Hopefully not.

Not if the parent is prepared to wait until the New Year.

Some parents will be picking their children up anyway or live very close by so it's not a punishment that impacts everybody in the same way

That is true and if I lived half an hour away and couldn't drive, I would probably see it differently - I had a 7 minute walk. But the point is, I'd go when it suited me, and if that meant my offspring was without their phone for a few days, that would be their lookout.

Do you realize that many people have a massive problem with authority as a result of dickhead schools and teachers with insane rules and nasty petty punishments? If the school wants to punish me for what my kids do then they will face consequences. Nothing illegal, maybe just not help out at the school fete and boycott it, maybe I'd come up with something more imaginative.

It’s the end of term, that’s the issue here. They won’t get the phone back until January otherwise

Should think about that before they break the rules. I think my son's school might have bent the rule if it was the last day of term. I am not sure, though.

I get that - my point was that people who think they have a right not to be photographed (and there are a lot) need to realise that they don;t (even in they do in school... apart from the CCTV in school which is constantly filming them).

Absolutely not the case here but thank you

Going to fetch a phone is not a punishment, petty or otherwise. It’s perfectly reasonable to expect a parent to collect their property. It’s also reasonable to expect them to do so within the hours that the school is open.

They already live with the consequences of people’s piss poor parenting every day.

Do you realize that many people have a massive problem with authority as a result of dickhead schools and teachers with insane rules and nasty petty punishments?

Do you realise that schools introduce more draconian rules because many kids have a massive problem with authority because their parents have no boundaries, can't say no to them, and model poor behaviour themselves? The rules are in place to deal with the behavioir, they don't cause it. Most students who behave really badly have already learned those behaviours before they go to school, certainly before they go to secondary school.

If the school wants to punish me for what my kids do then they will face consequences. Nothing illegal, maybe just not help out at the school fete and boycott it

I expect they'll be quaking in their boots!

Honestly, I doubt that the school would care.

I had a parent report me to the Director of Education in my authority one time. My crime?

On the day of her mocks for my subject, their daughter had clutched her stomach in a highly theatrical manner and had begun screaming "My belly!"

She then threw herself over three chairs and lay moaning. I managed to establish that it wasn't her period. Our rules didn't allow us to take her to A&E without the permission of a parent.

I tried Emergency Contact 1. No answer.

Emergency Contact 2. No answer.

Parent 1's mobile. No answer.

In desperation, I phoned Parent 2's work number. Arrangements were made for Parent 2 to pick up the child.

Parent 1 then sent me a letter informing me that they were reporting me for disturbing their spouse at work. Water off a duck's back.

Only if the parent is petty and stubborn!

Secondary schools rarely need parent volunteers. Are you making barely veiled threats against thousands of schools?

This is good. It is very easy for teens to get into this, they start feeling aggrieved then when they make mistakes they build it up that they are ‘being picked on’, ‘not my fault’. Despite evidence to the contrary they genuinely believe this.

The teachers really aren’t out to get him, even though he might feel like that.

You say he has career goals, can you link them to school work? Then lots of positive praise, teenagers are very similar to toddlers at time.

@Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter they absolutely can refuse to give it back to a child. It's actually government policy

It could have been given to her son. It was a deliberate punishment for the parent.

I note that you hate parents and note that you have no evidence OP is a "piss poor parent". I note that you seem like the sort of person who delights in punishing parents and you have absolutely convinced me that I was right - the teachers concerned are nasty nasty people who revel in inconveniencing parents.

You have emphasized to me that I should never ever ever automatically side with the teacher and instead I should probably assume they are stupid and vindictive and that I should always back my kids unless I have hard evidence (photo, video etc) that my kids did wrong.

I say this as someone whose partner is a teacher by training.

Teachers generally (and my partners agrees with me on this) seem to forget that they are preparing children to become adults, and that the parents already are adult, and that you don't treat adults like children.

And can I just make clear... we are massively pro education, both me and partner have degrees, post grad AND professional qualifications, and we very well behaved kids whose biggest complaint about school is other kids disrupting classes. Rules, discipline and punishments are all necessary, but that does not make every punishment that is conceived either morally right or EFFECTIVE at it's goal.

If it is the parent's property then it should not have been taken as no teacher has a right to confiscate my property. If it is the kid's property then it should be returned to the kid.

I am actually at the point of praying that my kids face this circumstance as I have a lot of anger I need to get out as a result of this thread.

Late to this but have skimmed the thread. It’s really brought out the batshit, hasn’t it?

Cool story bro.

I am expressing my massive anger at the outrageousness of this school policy and the mini-dictators who support it.