Can anyone tell me.....

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Looking for help
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Location: Berkshire

Can anyone tell me.....

Post by Looking for help »

what a school's legal rights are in terms of searching pupils' belongings? There was a bit of a kerfuffle today at my son's school over mobile phones and he assures me that his locker was searched when he was not present. He did not have his phone on him at the time, fortunately, but I was quite surprised that this would be allowed. It may only be rumour, but the school is very strict about the bringing in of phones, and he was very scared that if he'd had it with him he would have been caught. :cry:

Thanks
Looking for help
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Post by Looking for help »

Just to add though that security is paramount, but we need him to have his phone at school because of the distance he has to travel on public transport. The school have refused to allow phones, so we needed to keep it secret, and it is always loccked in his locker from the moment he gets there till the moment he leaves
Snowdrops
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Post by Snowdrops »

I don't know the answer LFH, but I do remember the thread on this issue you had last year.

I expect your son will feel paranoid about it now and not want to take it? As you say the school are very strict about 'phones - are they still not allowing any exceptional circumstances? - not even if he hands it in to reception each morning and collects it each evening, this then allows him to be 'guilt' free??

Hope you can get it resolved.
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Sassie'sDad
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Post by Sassie'sDad »

Seems a deplorable situation to me and Snowdrops suggestion is a good compromise suggestion. I do not have an answer to the legal question and suspect it is open to testing in the Courts, however, one would strain relations well before reaching the chance to have a test case and I for one would be reluctant to go there.
In my book wise heads understand that trust and responsibility are reciprocals and good schools are ready to treat their students like sensible responsible individuals.
Looking for help
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Post by Looking for help »

Yes sassie's dad in an ideal world, and no snowdrops, aint happening :cry: Looks like master LFH is going on 2 trains there and back with no phone on Monday :cry:
Marylou
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Post by Marylou »

Looking for help wrote:Just to add though that security is paramount, but we need him to have his phone at school because of the distance he has to travel on public transport. The school have refused to allow phones, so we needed to keep it secret, and it is always loccked in his locker from the moment he gets there till the moment he leaves
I think that's completely unreasonable. I've never heard of any school (secondary school, at any rate) completely banning mobile phones for all pupils.
Marylou
Gman
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Post by Gman »

Are you not making an issue over nothing. As the locker is actually the schools property they are entitled to search it. When allocating the lockers some schools make a point of mentioning that it is the schools property and that they can and will search them.

As for needing a phone because of the distance travelled. Nonsense. Yes they have made peoples lives easier, but for years children travelled long distances without them. In emergencies if your child is stuck at school, they will let him use the school phone.
Looking for help
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Post by Looking for help »

You might be right, Gman, but this is nothing to do with being stuck at school . This is to do with emergencies on the journey which involves 2 trains and a long walk. He is 11 years old. Maybe I am worrying over nothing but that as his mother is what I do.
Marylou - we asked the head of year at the start and she insisted that like Gman says there is no need to have one, but that is fine if you live round the corner, and I might have got over it if he was on a school coach, but not in the current circumstances. However I don't want to make a fuss if the incident yesterday was just a rumour as I don't want to draw attention to my son as our little secret has been working very well for a term and a half :wink:
Marylou
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Post by Marylou »

Gman wrote:for years children travelled long distances without them. In emergencies if your child is stuck at school, they will let him use the school phone.
...and for years it was fairly easy to find a public telephone if you wanted one, and our parents always sent us out with some change in case we needed to ring home. Not so now. Therefore we send our children out with the modern, more convenient alternative (an invention which, after all, is the main reason for the dearth of working public phones) in case they need our assistance while out and about. Which is why I think the school's stance is unreasonable - it is clear that the phone is only being carried to enable the pupil to contact his parents on the way to and from school, which seems perfectly fine to me. LfH and her son should not be forced into this suberfuge.
Marylou
Looking for help
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Post by Looking for help »

Thank you Marylou, I have decided to write to the head and explain the situation, asking whether he knows of a sensible solution. There is a phone box at the station, but it is often not working :cry: , and anyway, if I need to contact him for instance if I am going to be late, I cannot do that. The thing is, he is a sensitive little boy and is very concerned about breaking rules, and being caught breaking them, but also worries about things like the train being late. Aaaaaaaargh, I might educate him at home, seems like the easiest thing to do :wink:
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