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

She could have gotten the school to tell you she didn’t feel well, these aren’t reasons for phones in the school day to be allowed.

As long as your child obeys the school rules they will be ok. The rules are made for a reason, if you don't agree your child will have to leave. The answer is obey the rules.

What on earth could a child/teen have in a school bag that they don't want a teacher to see.
Surely the only stuff in there would be school related.

It does sound extreme. I’d just confiscate the phone for an extended period. That will be more of a deterrent. The kids that are likely to break the rules may not mind having a few days off school, a few days without their phone they will be upset about. The pouches are a good move though.

Like what? It’s a school bag. Only sensitive thing really is sanitary towels/tampons which isn’t something you need to hide from staff anyway, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

No I do not think it’s unreasonable. Phones shouldn’t be out in school at all. The amount of bullying that goes on in social media is horrendous. It won’t stop it , but it will limit it. We are seeing teachers being filmed and goaded , we are seeing pupils being filmed and bullied , deliberately to be filmed. It’s taking away from learning and not only that but the amount of students that call their parents during the day - anxieties , school refusal etc and asking parents to get them. Children need to be able to cope without doing that, staff are there to help them but parents are being called and getting involved and that affects education.

children are simply not listening. They have to put something harsh in to deter them and to get the message across that it isn’t tolerated . Children also need to learn - and so important that it’s learnt during childhood and adolescence- that actions have consequences. They know the rule, they know what will happen and if they do it then that’s on them and us as parents should be backing the school with it.

I wholeheartedly agree that phones should not be out in school at all - not at break time, not in lesson. They should be able to take them for safety reasons due to travelling , but they should be locked away as soon as they are in school.

If my child had a 3 day suspension for getting their phone out in school, they would be at home with no phone, no consoles etc and working the whole time so it was not enjoyable and they would not want to do it again .

I think the harshness is probably in line with the level of disruption they are causing in schools. As long as everyone is aware, and it's applied equally and consistently, I'd probably acknowledge it's a bit harsh but overall be fine with it.

We have a similar rule at work. We are not allowed to have our phones at our desks or on our person whilst working (for security reasons.) We can use them at breaktimes but only in the break out areas or outside. Failure to follow this rule could lead to dismissal. Why not just follow the school rule and then there would be no need for disciplinary measures?

👏👏👏

If a school openly introduces rules like this with good enough notice for a new Y7 intake to make their choice and not apply then I would support the school. The problem is however this sort of thing often comes along with some egomaniac of a new head, trying to stamp their new rules on things so they can be quoted in some Sunday newspaper. Let’s face it any kid who has a clue is going to take an old phone out of a drawer for school use and use that and risk that getting spotted and confiscated whilst keeping their actual iphone 16 in their inside blazer pocket. We can’t expect kids to have digital bus passes, make arrangements for if schools unexpectedly close and access homework/ kahoot in lessons and school emails/ classrooms constantly online yet then say phones can’t be in school at all.

A school would never take away a child’s access to their app for diabetes .

I have been in schools where a TA has had it on a school phone so gets alerts about blood sugars etc

in regard to bag searches and the pp who said “ what could a student have in their bag anyway that is a problem “ ( can’t find the post now ) … what about a knife ?

When I was a teacher, the answer to this was once “a sawn-off shotgun”.

Knives, drugs, vapes, fireworks… I’ve seen all of those in an Ofsted outstanding, high performing, very high standards school. I’d be amazed if a full bag-search in any school in the UK on any day of the year didn’t turn at least one weapon.

This. If they abide by it they won’t have any consequences!!

@PeppyLilacLion How did we manage 40 years ago then? We managed!

Some schools have metal detectors now.

(A girl in DDs year got a three suspension for filming a fight. It was a bit of a turning point for her, she's one of the most responsible girls in the year group now)

So just to recap, the OP thinks this is excessive because the school in question suspends for fewer days in the event of a violent, physical assault and has banned a student from going to prom because she was absent due to the death of her mother - but at no other time throughout the school year.

I'm struggling to believe this.

I was told the main cause of detentions was smoking. The Head actually pointed out some trees on the field and said they think if they smoke behind the trees we don't know what they're up to but we do. Punishment was a weeks hard labour i.e. an hours detention for five days helping the caretaker and cleaners.

The kids at the school always seemed very well behaved so it seemed to work.

Also consequences need to fit the crime. We don’t imprison for life for a first crime. All sorts of factors are taken into account and punishment should be reasonable. 3 days is on the heavy side.

You're going to pull your child out of the school because they are taking a hard stance against having phones in school during classes?

That's the decision you reached instead of making sure your child follows the rules and ensure they put their phone in the pouch during school hours?

While it seems a harsh punishment for the very small actual affect of having their phone out, it's not harsh in the sense that it's a rule that will only be broken by a child who deliberately tries to break it. It's not like a child can accidently find their phone, pick it up and move it into their bag in the morning, and then, at school, accidently find it in their bag and accidently take it out. Like if a child doesn't want to be punished, they can decide to leave their phone at home and then they 100% won't break the rule. If that child needs their phone because, say, they have a complicated journey on unreliable public buses, they can turn their phone off and put it in the bottom of their bag before entering the grounds. Again, if that's their routine, the teacher's only know to punish the child if the phone rings, which means the child has deliberately left the phone on, or deliberately got it out in the school day, which they would only do if they were happy with the consequences of doing so.

The suggestion was "something sensitive they don't want a teacher to see" giving the idea that it was a privacy thing - not trying to hide a knife or a vape.

There’s a consultation on this at my DD’s school. Apparently the government has said they have to introduce restrictions on mobile phone use and there are four different approaches, of which one is the locker thing. The school wants to have mobile phones not to be seen or heard and in pupils’ bags during lessons. If they are seen, then after two warnings the phone can be confiscated for five days. But nothing about suspensions though. That does seem very harsh!

My DD’s school have Yondr pouches. I am all on board with it. I agree that most children do not need phones at school. To answer a couple of questions raised.

lunches are paid for in advance, however, if they want to use their phone to pay for things in the shop/cafe then there is a handheld device behind the counter that the staff use to unlock the pouch and then the student has to lock it again afterwards

my DD’s friend has a medical issue and they have a yondr pouch with Velcro so essentially it is away and takes away the temptation of going on it, but also easily accessible if they need it to contact someone

we were charged £30 for the pouch

i actually can’t remember what the consequences are if they are caught but it definitely isn’t a suspension which just seems counterproductive to ensuring the students are getting the most out of their learning

as for your later posts @TooBored1 i think the school seem to have a strange way of engaging their students and this just feels like the tip of the iceberg for how strict they are and I don’t agree with their other practices or the 3 day suspension punishment

Well I suppose it might depend on the first offence. If it's shooting up a school with a machine gun and multiple deaths I'd hope they would get life. If they got probation or a short sentence because it was a first offence that would be ridiculous.