3 day suspension for having phone out in school

[TooBored1]

Would you think this was reasonable?

For context my DC's school is consulting on going phone free - pupils will have to put their phone into a lockable pouch when they enter school. They will be subject to random bag checks, and if your phone is not in the locked pouch, or if you are caught using it, there will be an automatic 3 day suspension.

Overall, I'm in favour of going phone free, but I think the punishment is too much, especially as it is harsher than that given for fighting/bullying or disrupting lessons.

I also don't think it will prevent cyber bullying, as, as experienced by both my children, this happens in the evening, rather than during the day.

The punishment is ok - your are being unreasonable
The punishment is not ok - you are not being unreasonable

You do know how a consultation works don't you?

Yes, but it isn't compulsory to weigh in if you don't have anything constructive to say. You think the punishment should be proportionate, so what does that look like and how would it be more effective than anything already being done?
Otherwise you're just another parent undermining the school. It's not remotely like a tie.

They won’t do it again.

And of course they are using them at breaks and whenever they can find a secret spot.

You'd hope !
3 days at home is bliss for some children.

I disagree. I think its perfectly fine to highlight a problem without having a solution and I think its important the trust knows if lots of people think its too harsh/wrong.

The school/trust can then consider it again and check their thinking. They have more information to hand but it's not unknown to make mistakes or get carried away.

If they reach the same conclusion, the onus on them is then to respond and say 'people said it was disproportionate but we disagree because x y z' and have a communication plan about the behaviour policy so its well received and this plsn is easier knowing which points are controversial.

otherwise parents will undermine it, or you get things like parental information evenings getting ambushed by this one issue.

If op wants to suggest more proportionate options like internal exclusions, or a 1 day suspension for the first offense, building up for further offenses she can but i dont think its essential.

And therein lies the problem. Too much ineffectual parenting.

Not for too many working parents, though.

Parents undermine schools whatever the punishments are. Which is why phones in schools remain a problem in the first place. If parents want proportional punishments from schools they need to start backing them up. Not whining when schools have no choice but to up the ante.

Responding to a consultation isn't whining.

Giving feedback to respondents after a consultation is normal practice.

I deal with school complaints and clerk exclusion panels as my job..

I know that a well handled consultation, and a well launched behaviour policy results in less kick back than a dogs dinner of a launch. Having seen two schools schools in a trust launch the same policy different just 2 years ago.

Not necessarily.
I thinking more for children with SEN who hate the noisy chaos of school and just find it all too much and desperately want a break from it all.
They just have to flash their phone and - bingo - 3 days of peace and calm.
Some children even like to be put in isolation because they prefer the quiet to a regular classroom.
Easy way to get 3 days at home.

It's awful, and unfortunately the student committed suicide not long after. Nothing was done regarding the school's actions AFAIK. The poor child had a host of other issues that weren't supported by staff and they 'slipped through the net'. There's a shit memorial plaque in a corridor somewhere, too little too late. It's why I'm so passionate about children's rights and children knowing their rights and having access to support. Having access to a phone when being cared for by staff who might not be able/want to give care is vital. But that's overlooked by many who think phones are pure evil and 'back in my day we didn't have them'. (sorry to derail the thread slightly!)

And why are schools noisy and chaotic? Because of ineffectual parenting! Schools aren't magic, they cant fix problems if parents wont help. If kids get excluded, parents need to be continuing the punishment at home. Blaming SEN for everything is just lazy, and supporting phone addiction isn't going to help in the long run - it's destroying mental health. Completely illogical to say behaviour is poor, more tiktok and fewer punishment is the best solution.

@Digdongdoo it's nothing to do with parents.
Schools are often noisy due to the design of the buildings that makes everything echo.
They are chaos because there's several 100 children there.
But it's not just that.
Classrooms that are quiet can still be a sensory overload due to the type of lights and the temperature.
Uniform is often a horrible nightmare for those with sensory conditions.
Even having too many wall displays and bright colours can be overwhelming because having too much of different things surrounding a child means they can't focus on the one thing they need to be focused on.
The smells - food, body odours, lynx deodorant etc...urrgh.
It's so hard for children with sensory issues to just be there. They struggle every day.
But by doing something fairly simple (getting their phone out) they get 3 days at home. Some will definitely do it on purpose just so they can have a break.

If my child had been subject to cyber bullying then they would barely have a phone at all. I certainly wouldn't be whingeing about the consequences of them using it against school rules.

Phones don't help with any of those issues, they don't make schools quieter, they don't make uniform more comfortable. They are a problem on top of a problem, not a solution to anything. Parents need to be making sure kids can't take phones to school in the first place - they shouldn't get the opportunity to do it twice imo. Ineffectual parenting.

I know phones don't make a difference.
That's not my point.
The point is by breaking the rule of not having a phone switched off, in a pouch and in their bag a child can get 3 days off school.
It's an easy and non violent rule to break in order to get a rest from school for 3 days. Those that simply just hate school could do it too.
The "punishment" doesn't really fit the crime.
It makes me laugh every year when schools do things like compulsory after school revision sessions with the rule of "if you don't attend you can't go to prom".
If prom had been a thing when I was at school I would have HATED the idea of going so if I had received the punishment of not being able to attend I wouldn't have cared at all.
Not really an incentive to behave 😂
Have the rule of phones off, in pouches and put away - but they need a different punishment.

Like what? What different punishment do you think would work? What different punishment would parents actually support and enforce? Do enlighten us if you can think of something no school has thought of in the last 15+ years.

@Digdongdoo I actually don't know.
I really don't.
It's just ironic to give those who dislike school and are more likely to break rules time OFF school.
In school suspensions would be better.
Or as someone upthread suggested - a bit of community service.
In my day we had lunchtime litter picking but as lunchtimes are so short these days that might not work.
Or lines. Remember them? A boring and time consuming waste of free time.
500 times of "I will follow the phone rules".

And people wonder why kids are rude, cruel and out of control with no respect these days. Those against this are part of the reason. We got on just fine without phones in school. Why can't your kids?

It's correct that children don't need phones while IN school but these days they are very useful to have one as part of getting to and from school.
Public pay phones are rare.
Bus tickets are often via an app.
The OPs argument isn't about the no phones being used in school hours rule - it's about the 3 day suspension if a child is caught using one.
That's what she is concerned about.

Three days off school sounds like a reward for the student and a punishment for the parent. It should be three days in detention instead.

Perfectly reasonable, it’s been well telegraphed in advance and is not difficult to comply with.

I mean you get 6 points for using a mobile phone in your car and that’s half way to a driving ban.

Get a Nokia with basic text and call capacity make that basic equipment and everyone’s happy!

Except I expect the kids wouldn’t like that as much.

The issue is a lot of things like bus passes are done via apps.
To get home - you need a smart phone.