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

Do you know my work history?

FYI, I have worked in schools before, have had my fair share of crazy conversations with parents and have been physically attacked by pupils and threatened by parents.

Interestingly, in a school that banned mobile phones .......

@Lindy2 Yes. It’s the symptom of a poorly run school. When schools have disruption they tend to make examples of some dc rather than working out what makes dc comply.

Thank you, you have articulated a nagging concern I have re the MANAGEMENT of the MAT. The is a lot of emphasis on micro management of the kids, that doesn't seem to improve behaviour where it matters but allows the schools to claim they have met their KPI.

Agreed. Some kids have been taken out of school completely due to the failure to protect from bullying (on school premises) yet 99.5% turn up with ties on, so all is good.

@TooBored1 You are in the wrong school. Can you not get dc to another one not in the mat?

@TooBored1 Yes I see you said that but what about outside the city? Do buses go out? Can you commute out? Are you bordering a rural area? I’d move away! Who needs schools like this? Yes, some parents love these schools and believe draconian rules are needed, I believe dc are served better by firm but fair application of rules.

I think it’s a very good consequence, to be honest. So heavy it will deter the majority of students from breaking it, which is that they want.
The amount of staff and class time wasted every day in policing phones is ridiculous. I imagine this harsh policy is hoping to wipe that out.

Will the suspended student be at home or in the exclusion unit for the three days ? They won’t be ‘denied education’ as they will have work assigned to them.

I think a lot of people are confusing 2 things.

• A ban on phones in school - yes a good thing. I'm surprised that there are schools that still haven't already done this. Our phone ban has been in place for years.

• A 3 day suspension for using a phone - no this is a disproportionate sanction, especially for a first offence.

Schools have been fighting against phones with proportionate punishments for 15+ years, and it's only getting worse. I'm not sure what other choice they have at this point. Parents should be backing schools up, not questioning them.

This.

And it's why I back Draconian punishments on phones in schools.

The rules are not hard to follow.

Parents who have kids messaging them because they've forgotten x, complaining about X or for whatever other reason during school time use this as a reason to say that why the kid needs the phone instead of bollocking the kids for being feckless and telling them they need to deal with this when they get home and have a proper face to face conversation.

Parents and kids should understand that school hours are not for WhatsApping.

The parents completely undermine the school every time they do this.

It's not hard, if he doesn't break the rules he won't get suspended.

With respect, have you RTT?

Thank you. You are correct, the question was about the sanction for the offence, not the offence itself.

No.

1. This is a consultation so by definition requires parents to consider the proposal and to ask questions, make suggestions etc.

1. As parents, it is our duty to hold those teaching our children accountable, and that includes questioning policies, sanctions and rules where appropriate

Neither of these prevent me as a parent backing up school, ensuring my children are well behaved, respectful and engaged in school. And neither prevent me from engaging in respectful, meaningful dialogue with school about things that affect my children.

3 days straight away does seem extreme to be honest because if the student becomes a repeat offender then what on earth would be the next level of punishment?
Maybe it should be a sliding scale of punishment.
1st offence - detention.
2nd offence - 1 day suspension.
3rd offence - 3 days.
I also think it should be internal suspension because 3 days at home will be 3 days sitting around on the Xbox for many.

@TooBored1 I also think it's terrible that one MAT is allowed to dominate a town.
That's awful.

3 days suspension is ridiculous. Schools bleat on about how important it is to attend school and not go on term time holidays and tell you to only call in sick if your arms hanging off... then pull bullshit like this.

I know. I think it's now close to 20 schools and around 16,000 pupils, expanding into other cities and the surrounding towns.

But they also want to be able to provide education that isn't constantly disrupted by needless and unnecessary phone use surely? Both things can be true. It's not just the phone you need to deal with, it's also the children actively going out of their way to disengage and disrupt.

I'm not a fan of what I consider petty school rules around uniforms and creating little robot children but not am I fan of a culture where parents think their wee Johnny can do whatever he wants, and wee Johnny starts to believe that's the truth. I know schools have been trying to deal with phones in so many different ways from trusting children to not use them during lessons, to having a box, to trying to incorporate them into lessons and unfortunately it's clear that if you give the children an inch, they'll take a mile. Because they're children. So it has to be incumbent on the adults to manage this and that includes the parental aspect of responsibility for this. I think schools are genuinely in the position that it is so disruptive and resources are being stretch so thin that zero tolerance is the only way to deal with it.

@TooBored1 Er? Yes. But you surely don’t believe a consultation will change anything? Are you truly ok with this regime? I would not be and would be travelling to another school. If you can’t, you can’t. But do not think you will change anything. You won’t.

This.

Banning phones in schools by legislation is long overdue.

I do now think 3 days for a first offence is a bit over the top.

@Needmorelego Most behaviour policies outline sanctions on a sliding scale. Going to 3 days for first offence that’s isn’t violent is ludicrous. It also can make some dc very nervous. Others very much dislike unfairness and resent the teachers. The best schools are firm but fair. Once a school stops being fair, they lose the support of dc and parents. The majority want a calm and ordered school. The job of the school is to ensure the pupils get this and they deal with the ones who prevent learning. But it must be done objectively and fairly, or it falls down and is resented. This looks like lashing out.

But why do you need to query it? Do you have a better idea that hasn't already been tried by schools everywhere over the last decade? If so, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it. It's not as though this is a new issue and the school is jumping in head first. This is a last resort.

@TizerorFizz yes I definitely think that 3 days is too much unless it's a constant repeat offender.
It isn't be a complicated rule to follow and one that the students can have control over themselves (lacking correct uniform or equipment isn't always something children can control because parents are the ones responsible for providing it) so they just need to follow the rule.
3 days is extremely over the top.