Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Strict no phones rule at secondary school

316 replies

mrstidytraxxxx · 01/07/2023 20:28

DS is starting Y7 in September. The school has a strict no mobile phone rule on site. If a student takes a mobile onto school grounds and it is found, it is confiscated for a minimum of 48-hours.

We live approximately a 30-minute walk from secondary school. There are buses, but these are apparently unreliable.

Either myself or DH will take DS to school at present (primary school is less than 10-minute walk away) and he walks home by himself, with one of us meeting him at home.

When DS plays out with friends, he has his mobile with him and knows we use Google Family Link to check he is where he says he is and he is happy with this arrangement. Obviously, we will not be able to continue like this for school journeys from September.

I would like to get a GPS tracker, either key-ring or watch, to make sure where he is on the way home.

Can anyone recommend an Android-compatible GPS key-ring or watch, that does not alert if it moves too far away from the mobile it is connected to, preferably subscription free?

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 11:30

Obviously tracking is possible. I don't see what difference that makes to kids being tracked by their parents.

gogomoto · 02/07/2023 11:41

Why would you track your child (assuming no sen) Mine are older now but I this thing called trust!

Peter12345678 · 02/07/2023 11:42

Obviously tracking is possible. I don't see what difference that makes to kids being tracked by their parents

Would you like to be tracked? What about trust? Freedom?

The only reason you tract them is for your benefit - think about that

DNAwrangler · 02/07/2023 11:51

Get him a way to keep the phone in his bag without being seen - slit in the lining , sewn on black pocket near the lining etc.

abd his locker - get one and then have a copy of the key made to keep at home , surely

MariaVT65 · 02/07/2023 12:05

KnitMePurlMe · 01/07/2023 21:15

@MariaVT65 ah yes, “the school can just fuck off” and once again the mystery of why schools can’t retain teachers is exposed by the twattish behaviour of the utterly delightful parents 🙄.

Damn right the school can fuck off. If I am only allocated a school 30 mins away from my house, then the school won’t be having a say in my child’s safety before and after school hours. I even had. Basic phone in 1999 for emergencies to and getting from school. The ‘no phones on site’ rule that OP is referring to is ridiculous.

MariaVT65 · 02/07/2023 12:09

Beekdet · 01/07/2023 21:36

Is it any wonder schools are such awful places to be for pupils and staff lately when parents have attitudes like this.

It's not a secret that children carry phones for use on journeys between home and school. If it's in a bag and not being used, it's not disturbing learning and it's not creating behavioural issues which need investigating.

The confiscation policy will be enforced if the child is found to be using the phone on school premises, which is entirely reasonable.

Show quote history

I’m simply referring to the ‘strict no phones on site’ rule that OP is referring to, which is giving me the impression that OP is now worried about sending the phone secretly in the bag. This is exactly why schools can fuck off. Children are allocated schools 30 mins from home, but then don’t expect children to be contactable on journeys in case of emergencies. So yes, schools can fuck off. I don’t think i’m being unreasonable by asking that my 11 year old is contactable when on journeys by themselves, for emergencies. I had a phone for this purpose even in 1999 for the school commute.

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:18

@Peter12345678 "The only reason you tract them is for your benefit - think about that"

I think you might be addressing the wrong poster.

EarthlyNightshade · 02/07/2023 12:20

CurlewKate · 01/07/2023 21:54

@NoCoincidence "No one is sitting watching the tracking constantly, you just use it if there's a reason to."

What would that reason be?

My DCs both mountain bike with friends in the local hills. I've found the trackers incredibly handy several times when they have come off their bikes and needed assistance so I know where I can park up and find them.

Also, more superficially, it's handy when I want to put the dinner on and I can see how far away they are.

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:25

@EarthlyNightshade

I can see how it might help in the mountain biking situation-but the number of children needing to be collected from wilderness locations is surely pretty limited.

I expected my children to send me a text telling me when they were on the way home. Part of learning how to navigate the world, and to show courtesy to the person cooking their dinner.

lechatnoir · 02/07/2023 12:28

As other have said phone is left in bag and not touched during school hours and you set up downtime for those hours so he doesn't have to remember to turn it off or it starts beeping in class.

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:33

The people who are thinking of ways to circumvent the ban-how are you going to get round telling your child "the rules don't apply to us."?

Comedycook · 02/07/2023 12:36

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:33

The people who are thinking of ways to circumvent the ban-how are you going to get round telling your child "the rules don't apply to us."?

The rule is no phones in school. The op seems happy to go along with that as most parents are....but the rule means that after school, the child has no access to a phone. That's the issue

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:38

@Comedycook Yes, I know. And I think it's a daft rule-although I can see what the school is trying to do. My question is- what sort of message does it send to a child to say "This rule does not apply to you."?

MariaVT65 · 02/07/2023 12:42

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:38

@Comedycook Yes, I know. And I think it's a daft rule-although I can see what the school is trying to do. My question is- what sort of message does it send to a child to say "This rule does not apply to you."?

I’m quite happy to give that message to my kids if the rule itself is stupid and compromises child safety. The school isn’t always right, as no one is. The schools need to accept is this as a part consequence of schools being oversubscribed, meaning more kids are being allocated schools further from home.

Comedycook · 02/07/2023 12:44

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:38

@Comedycook Yes, I know. And I think it's a daft rule-although I can see what the school is trying to do. My question is- what sort of message does it send to a child to say "This rule does not apply to you."?

Blindly following rules is not necessarily a positive lesson for kids. The rule clearly exists so that pupils aren't on their phones during school hours and getting distracted. If the phone is on their person but not turned on then imo the spirit of the rule has been followed rather than the letter of it.

DNAwrangler · 02/07/2023 12:45

CurlewKate , it’s not too hard really. I teach my kids not to blindly follow rules. Think about what the rule is trying to achieve and make sure they stick to that part of it.

do you teach your kids that they have to blindly follow every rule/instruction then? Not a great message.

Calloffruity · 02/07/2023 12:48

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:33

The people who are thinking of ways to circumvent the ban-how are you going to get round telling your child "the rules don't apply to us."?

I'd quite happily tell my child that a rule was stupid if it was stupid and help them break it if necessary. We're not sheep and teachers aren't gods.

It's a moot point though because no school is going to ban children from travelling with a phone, just the use of it on site.

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 12:57

I'm quite happy to tell my children I think a rule is daft. But I'd have to have a damn good reason to tell them it was OK to break it. And the idea of encouraging them to hide a phone in the lining of a bag is seriously ridiculous. Apart from anything else, people obviously have greater faith in the ability of the average 11 year old to keep their mouth shut.

redskytwonight · 02/07/2023 13:02

I've read the whole thread and the only example I agree that tracking was useful was the SEN child who panicked when they got lost and would not have been able to find their way back without.

  1. I know where my child is by the simple expedient of asking them. There are very few occasions where I need to know more accurately than "at the park". If they are somewhere they don't want me to know, they are clever enough just to ditch their phone. Now I have no way of contacting them.
  2. If my child gets lost and can't find their way back by using Google maps/their own initiative (assuming no SEN) then they probably shouldn't be out on their own.
  3. If your child falls off their bike in the woods when mountain biking you can use what3words to locate them
  4. If your child is bundled into a van by a faceless abductor, then surely the first rule of abductor training is to throw the phone/tracker out of the window?
  5. I'm glad that some people don't care that their young teens know that they are not trusted by their parents. I assume you also don't care when your young teens grow up and are not interested in having a relationship with you as an adult?
DNAwrangler · 02/07/2023 13:04

Depends how much they need the phone for the journey home doesn’t it. And how often people’s phones go off in class prompting a bag search. Might be daft to hide the phone, might not…

Comedycook · 02/07/2023 13:11

redskytwonight · 02/07/2023 13:02

I've read the whole thread and the only example I agree that tracking was useful was the SEN child who panicked when they got lost and would not have been able to find their way back without.

  1. I know where my child is by the simple expedient of asking them. There are very few occasions where I need to know more accurately than "at the park". If they are somewhere they don't want me to know, they are clever enough just to ditch their phone. Now I have no way of contacting them.
  2. If my child gets lost and can't find their way back by using Google maps/their own initiative (assuming no SEN) then they probably shouldn't be out on their own.
  3. If your child falls off their bike in the woods when mountain biking you can use what3words to locate them
  4. If your child is bundled into a van by a faceless abductor, then surely the first rule of abductor training is to throw the phone/tracker out of the window?
  5. I'm glad that some people don't care that their young teens know that they are not trusted by their parents. I assume you also don't care when your young teens grow up and are not interested in having a relationship with you as an adult?

So what do you think about setting parental controls on a phone so they can't access certain websites. Is that an invasion of their privacy? Should we just trust our kids to not access certain content?

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 13:25

@Comedycook "So what do you think about setting parental controls on a phone so they can't access certain websites. Is that an invasion of their privacy? Should we just trust our kids to not access certain content?"

That is pretty classic whataboutery, to be honest! There is a big difference between not wanting your child to access porn on their phones (good luck with that, by the way-I'd go for open and honest discussion about what's good for them/other people/society personally so that if/when they come up against something vile they are at least a bit equipped) and not thinking routinely tracking children is a good idea.

redskytwonight · 02/07/2023 13:25

So what do you think about setting parental controls on a phone so they can't access certain websites. Is that an invasion of their privacy? Should we just trust our kids to not access certain content?

I don't understand your question? Putting parental controls on a phone is not invading privacy in any way, shape or form.

EarthlyNightshade · 02/07/2023 13:43

redskytwonight · 02/07/2023 13:02

I've read the whole thread and the only example I agree that tracking was useful was the SEN child who panicked when they got lost and would not have been able to find their way back without.

  1. I know where my child is by the simple expedient of asking them. There are very few occasions where I need to know more accurately than "at the park". If they are somewhere they don't want me to know, they are clever enough just to ditch their phone. Now I have no way of contacting them.
  2. If my child gets lost and can't find their way back by using Google maps/their own initiative (assuming no SEN) then they probably shouldn't be out on their own.
  3. If your child falls off their bike in the woods when mountain biking you can use what3words to locate them
  4. If your child is bundled into a van by a faceless abductor, then surely the first rule of abductor training is to throw the phone/tracker out of the window?
  5. I'm glad that some people don't care that their young teens know that they are not trusted by their parents. I assume you also don't care when your young teens grow up and are not interested in having a relationship with you as an adult?

I am absolutely fine with you not agreeing with tracking but we had a mountain biking accident and what3words would just not have cut it. So I am keeping it on.
Do you know of people who have cut contact with their parents because they used Find My iPhone ? Are there actual statistics on this?

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 13:47

So. Mountain biking accident. Apart from that- has there been an example where tracking did a job texting couldn't? Except the honest poster who said she was entitled to know where her children are at all times?

Swipe left for the next trending thread