School confiscated phone

[Irritated02]

Hi all, not sure where this would go on here, I hope someone can advise or point in the right direction.

My daughters school confiscated her phone as she entered the school gates this morning as it was still in her hand. After school they refused to give it back and said it would be held in school for two weeks.

Im so annoyed. I couldn’t reach her and when she arrived home and told me it was too late, the school had shut and it’s now the weekend.

Tia

[Irritated02]

Anyone?

[paulajayne]

I would suggest You attend the school and collect it.

[R0b]

Does the school have a policy on the use of mobile phones and has that been communicated to you?

S.91 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 allows the school to confiscate items belonging to the student provided they comply with this section (click here)

S.94 goes on to say if the confiscation is lawful, the school is not liable for damage to the confiscated item (click here).

I think first you need to consider the school's policy (if any) and then determine if the confiscation for 2 weeks is proportionate, taking into account the criteria set out in s.91(6).

2 weeks for a first time offence seems a little excessive (or excessive in any circumstances) but if there is a policy on the use of mobile phones and you agreed to that when you sent your daughter to that school then that won't go in your favour provided the school has followed the policy. Equally, if the policy says that a first time offence means the phone will be confiscated for 2 weeks, that doesn't sound like it's proportionate though the only way would be to challenge the school's policy short of making a legal challenge in court.

I also think your daughter needs to accept some responsibility if she was fully aware of the policy but chose to ignore it anyway.