Is checking contents of childrens bottles and confiscating them if not water only illegal?

[devonvalley]

New head has instructed staff to do above!!
They get returned 2 hrs later a t lunch, so my son who is working towards water only,has a drink at 8am then not til 1pm ! the idea behind preventing dehydration is to increase a childs fluid intake to enhance concentration levels in school and a dash of good squash or flavoured water which a lot of parents would /are using will be confiscated !!(hs sugar free additive free, natural flavouring dash of squash to take rawness off for time being) all rest of family drink water, but son has food issues,and refuses to drink water on its own.we keep trying,others did convert a t there own pace!(children should be treated as individuals at school are they not??) If it was coke i could understand!
We have to give written consent to many things in school time, this needs our permission does it not?checking, confiscating. We fought two wars in this country to deny dictorial leadership??

It is illegal to check the contents of any child's belongings without their or your consent unless they suspect him carrying drugs or offensive weapons.

schools cannot check lunchboxes

..or unless there is a police officer present

YOU are responsbile for your child not liking water. YOU are responsible for sending him to school with water only.

Or unless the child says it is OK. Most primary aged kids are pretty compliant.

brassband....i guess the kids all give their consent then!!

be a different angle to that if a childs parent sent something in,in the bookbag and a member of staff had failed to extract it....it would be 'incompetant teachers couldnt even be bothered to LOOK in ds bookbag to see if i had sent in the form/letter/trip money'

No it is not illegal. Teachers have to check childrens bags daily anyway for reading books, notes from home etc etc.

Squash, no matter how dilute is a complete pain in the backside if spilt. if an item is not allowed, it is confiscated, simple as.

They are allowed water in classes at the schools discretion. childern such as diabetics who need to eat/drink at certain times are allowed to do so under supervision/special conditions or whatever procedure the school puts in place to make it easy for them and the child.

I've been on the other end of this in the theatre. Parents complained that only water was allowed in dressing room. (For goodness sakes it was a one hour show and they were backstage for less than 2 hours maximum. Guess what happened, juice got spilt on a costume.

"They are there to teach your precious kiddies, not to be them for God's sake. Stop using such a ridiculous and petty argument (not just the OP) and as others have said, pick your battles or home educate."

The same position (teachers are there to teach, petty arguments, pick your battles) could be used to suggest that teachers could stop picking petty battles over water bottles and do some teaching instead with the time freed up.

the teachers are directed by the head teacher....so a non argument there!!

But Loopy, part of what they are there for is to teach by example^. What kind of example is it if the dc have to dress in what is really a very outdated way when the staff are able to dress in a relaxed way? It's not about being precious, it is about consistency.

The uniform change has been brought in at KS2 because sweatshirt/polo shirt isn't 'smart' enough and the new uniform 'enhances self esteem' (try telling that to the 7 yr old in tears because he can't manage his tie).

It's a very mixed message if their teaching staff don't have to look smart. Do they have porr self-esteem, or good self-esteem?

Personally I thought everything was fine as it was and it really was a case of fixing something that wasn't broken. And linking appearance to self esteem is just But if sweeping change is made and the school really believes in this message, then the whole school ethos should reflect that this is a 'smart' school with 'high self-esteem', no? And that will include the appearance of the KS2 teaching staff if they currently look scruffy.

And part of me agrees about the apathy. I don't give a bugger about water bottles but I do care that families who have at least one partner facing redundancy have been forced to buy new uniform without a phasing in stage and for what is no more than an exercise in vanity. So many parents were pissed off about it yet are too scared/apathetic to speak to the head. That worries me, tbh. I nearly made a complaint because the uniform introduction breached 5 different DoE guidelines but in the end I didn't because I was worried about the implications for my dc.[coward emoticon]

We didn't have a drink at school at all until lunchtime.

At the DCs school they are allowed to take WATER in in hot weather to take into the classroom, there is also a water fountain they can use.

DS2 is a water refuser so i make an extra lunchtime drink.

DOn't see why you are making such a fuss tbh.

From your later posts it sounds like you dislike the head as well as not liking change.

No, Brassband, it is NOT illegal. The article you've pointed to merely says that the DFES (which no longer exists) told schools that they should not search lunchboxes if the child refuses. Guidance from a government department is very different from saying it is against the law. In any case, a primary school child is unlikely to refuse to allow a teacher to search their lunchbox.

Teachers are acting in loco parentis. By and large that means they have the same rights as parents.

The school has ruled that children should only drink water, presumably to stop parents sending children in with sugary drinks which may affect the child's concentration and behaviour. It is up to parents to comply.

I agree absolutely with HowsTheSerenity.

Ridiculous. I'm a teacher. I just wouldn't do this. How silly.

Spiritmum, I agree that teachers (and other staff in a school) should look smart, just as any other professional should. Jeans aren't usually acceptable in a school setting.

If we have to "lead by example" then probably parents should stop drinking coffee at home. Fancy that? They should also never drink alcohol in front of their children and ask if they may leave the table at dinner time.
We are talking about children. They are at school to learn, both academically and socially. They should be quite capable of accepting that the staff are there in a different context from themselves, and as such are granted some privileges. Incidentally, it is not good practice for anyone to drink hot beverages in a classroom, many schools won't allow this.

The uniform situation you're talking about (I presume) is specific to your children's school. Did you complain about the lack of phasing in? I think that is a fair point. However, parents would be the first to complain if they had to pick outfits for their children daily. Uniform makes it much easier for parents. Also, obviously there are reasons that uniform is a good idea in terms of safety (spot them a mile off). Teachers are quite capable of sorting out their own clothes and are not so likely to wander off out the school gates.

setting an example??

the PE teacher wears sports clothes....he teaches and is form teacher too.....should he put on shirt/tie just to take the register when the kids know he's going to be on the rugby pitch most of the day??? kids arent stupid!

DS prefers water to other drinks so I'm lucky and OP has my sympathy on fighting food issues (which we have too, just not around water)

BUT I'm really shocked and offended that you refer to this as dictatorship. There are plenty of rules at schools, they are there to make the difficult job of managing a large group of children by a small group of adults easier. I expect that the rules at school will be more complex and more extensive than in other parts of life for this reason.

Millions of people today are suffering under dictatorships and you do them a disservice by linking your discomfort to theirs. If we're worried about dictatorship I'd be more worried about CCTV, ASBOS and Identity cards; the murder of protestors by police etc.

I just don't understand this school's reasoning.

My DS has water and milk to drink throughout the day. He's 23 months. I will continue this as he gets older. Diluted juice is a rare treat.

But the school lunch includes squash...
So.... they are serving up cakes and squash at lunchtime, but not allowing kids to sip at a bit of squash before then? Makes no sense. I could understand if the school made the decision that kids only have water... but they haven't. They've decided that they can only have a sugary drink if they provide it.

It does make sense. If you continually sip a sugary drink all day it is far worse for your teeth than having a big sugary drink all at once.

Also, it will be consumed in the school canteen on wipeable tables, so not likely to dribble all over the place.

I think she was exaggerating in the heat of the moment with the "dictatorship" comment...
people get so hung up on things like that on MN. Don't we all say things we don't mean/exaggerate quite a bit when in exasperation?

If you don't, then you are a better person than I am and well done you :)

Ok loopyloops. I hear that argument. I can just say that I leave it to the parents of my students to decide what's in their snacks. Waiting for a meeting at the moment and sneaking in a bit of MN on my iphone parent is 20 minutes late. lovely.

Thing is, as someone pointed out above, it usually isn't the teachers who care. If the head tells them that's what they have to do, they do it, no matter how stupid you feel when you're wasting your time by sniffing drinks.

My DS doesnt like water so he doesnt take a bottle. He has a big drink before school, one in his lunchbox at lunchtime and then I take one up at hometime.

Those of you who have made the point that teachers should be teaching rather than checking that children are following the rules are missing the point. Children need to see that if they are following a rule, everyone needs to follow it. It is an important life lesson to learn that they are no different when it comes to rules. I have no objection to teachers checking water bottles. Maybe if parents sent children in with the right drink, teachers would have more time to teach.

Children have a very keen sense of what is fair and it is important that in school, all children are seen to be treated equally.

I love school uniform. Have no problem with it at all.

I do have a problem with my dc getting mixed messages. In particular I have an issue with 'smartness' only being applicable to them and not to staff. I'm not suggesting business attire, I'm suggesting an end to sweats and jeans. If teachers get messy (and I'm sure they do) and need to be comfortable (and I'm sure they do) then doesn't the same thing apply to the pupils?

I am in favour of a relaxed dress code throughout primary. But if the code is changed for pupils then is is illogical and inconsistent not to change it for staff.

Of course I don't lead by example at home, I cock up left right and centre and no doubt I am consigning my dc to years of therapy. But I am their mum and my unconditional love for them makes up for the cock ups a bit. Teachers don't love my dc unconditionally even if they love their jobs; they are paid to teach and that includes leading by example.

DRagonfly, we're talking Primary KS2. No forms and no PE teachers.

Incidentally part of my thinking has come from a secondary school teacher I know who does wear business attire to school. She was spoken to at the end of class by a group of pupils who told her how much they appreciated that she made an effort to look smart as they were expected to, yet most of the teachers looked scruffy.

No, kids aren't stupid.