Can a school confiscate a mobile phone for more than a day?

[kamilb1998]

Hi guys,

I had my phone confiscated last lesson today, and the teacher who confiscated it said I can't have it back. I was on the Sinclair and went to the shops and was told by a friend who was in my class at the time that they HAVE to give it back to you at the end of the day.

I got back into school and as I walked into the office, the teacher who confiscated my phone came in to hand it in. I said to the lady in the office that a friend told me the school HAVE to give it back at the end of the day. To which she replied that its up to the teacher who confiscated it, so she asked her and she said that if she gave it back today I wouldn't learn a lesson from it.

While I kind of understand her point of view, I got home and found this as one of the answers to a similar question on Yahoo Answers;



It mentions the source as the Ofsted Safety Regulations. I think I may find this, print it off and hand to her tomorrow morning. I'm pretty peed off about the whole situation because I use my phone quite a lot and now I'm not getting it back till the end of the day tomorrow.

What are your views on this, and does anyone know whether or not they legally have to give your phone back at the end of the school day, after all it is your property and you should have the right to have it back at the end of the day.

[kamilb1998]

Snowboy said:

but, I hope your parents will just laugh at you and support the school.

Thanks!

I understand the 'grown up' point of view and that it will teach me a lesson. But I just don't think that they should be allowed to keep your property whilst you are not under their care. They usually return confiscated phones at the end of the day it's just this case with a teacher who doesn't get on with students and has no control over 80% of her classes.

[kamilb1998]

jazzyjeff said:

If they all spend their class time messing with their phones, it's no wonder she has no control...

They don't, and I'm in one of the top sets. The thing is she makes her lessons so incredibly boring students tend to start getting bored after a while and go into private conversations. I admit I am guilty of this on some occasions. This does disrupt her lessons but she has no control over anyone and can't stop them.

[kamilb1998]

tr7v8 said:

kamilb1998 said:

Snowboy said:

but, I hope your parents will just laugh at you and support the school.

Thanks!

I understand the 'grown up' point of view and that it will teach me a lesson. But I just don't think that they should be allowed to keep your property whilst you are not under their care. They usually return confiscated phones at the end of the day it's just this case with a teacher who doesn't get on with students and has no control over 80% of her classes.

And you pissing about with a phone helps of course

It's the first time I've done anything on my phone in one of her lessons and I only flicked the screen on because it had popped up a notification from an App. Whereas I know of others in the class who constantly sit there texting away all lesson.

[kamilb1998]

Deva Link said:

R0G said:

On the way home you find that you need the phone to make an emergency call

IIRC the OP lives on the premises?

We live on the premises of an autistic school where my mum teaches, I go to a normal high school 3 miles away.

[kamilb1998]

jazzyjeff said:

R0G said:

give them back their property when school ends unless the parent gives permission to do other

We haven't established yet that this isn't the case?

No phone calls home or anything, she just said she can confiscate it because students are not allowed to use them in school.

[kamilb1998]

Mr Gearchange said:

R0G said:

On the way home you find that you need the phone to make an emergency call

Your parents state that you have a phone for this puprose as well as other uses

The school has kept your phone

To my mind the school has now put you in danger

Oh FFS. Yes it's lethal having your phone taken off you. Before 1994 60% of children died on their way home from school through an inability to make emergency calls.

Oh and OP - haven't you got some homework to do?

fking school kids moaning about the teacher taking their phone off them. FFS

I didn't mean for this post to come across as me moaning for having my phone taken off me. I understand that I shouldn't use it, I was just curious as to whether or not they can decide not to give your phone back to you at the end of the school day.

[kamilb1998]

jazzyjeff said:

That may be the case. But do you know for certain that your parents don't have an agreement with the school to hold onto the phone "on their behalf" whilst they aren't present? Have you asked your parents about it? (I suspect not )

I've spoken to them about it but they said there is no agreement that they know of. I did try ringing mum from a friend's phone to get her to come in and get it back but she was in a meeting.

[kamilb1998]

carmonk said:

Unbelievable that kids are allowed phones in school. I thought school was for learning stuff, not pissing around.

Officially we're not allowed them in school, but teacher's know that the majority have them. Most teachers will confiscate phones but usually students have the right to have them back at the end of the day. But in my case I got told I am not allowed my phone until after school tomorrow.

[kamilb1998]

timbob said:

but if the student was a repeat offender, constantly disrupting other students' learning and always getting their phone confiscated, perhaps holding it for a week would actually cause them enough annoyance to stop playing with their phone in class!

It is the first time my phone has been confiscated and I've been at the school for over 2 years - currently in Year 9.

[kamilb1998]

Engineer1 said:

Or the OP's failure to abide by the rules and almost certainly blatant phone use has meant it has been confiscated, if the OP has obeyed the rules and kept the phone in his bag/ pocket then the OP would still have the phone.

OP if other kids are messing with their phones then being the one who is seen will result in your phone being confiscated. Bad luck, obey the rules and ask the teacher tomorrow if you can have your phone back.

I understand why I got it confiscated. I was just curious as to whether or not a school can legally decide not to return your phone to you at the end of the school day.

[kamilb1998]

carmonk said:

kamilb1998 said:

Engineer1 said:

Or the OP's failure to abide by the rules and almost certainly blatant phone use has meant it has been confiscated, if the OP has obeyed the rules and kept the phone in his bag/ pocket then the OP would still have the phone.

OP if other kids are messing with their phones then being the one who is seen will result in your phone being confiscated. Bad luck, obey the rules and ask the teacher tomorrow if you can have your phone back.

I understand why I got it confiscated. I was just curious as to whether or not a school can legally decide not to return your phone to you at the end of the school day.

If you found it was illegal, how would that help you? (I don't see how it can be illegal, but just assuming)

They may not have the right to keep your property out of hours - when you're not under their care.

[kamilb1998]

carmonk said:

kamilb1998 said:

carmonk said:

kamilb1998 said:

Engineer1 said:

Or the OP's failure to abide by the rules and almost certainly blatant phone use has meant it has been confiscated, if the OP has obeyed the rules and kept the phone in his bag/ pocket then the OP would still have the phone.

OP if other kids are messing with their phones then being the one who is seen will result in your phone being confiscated. Bad luck, obey the rules and ask the teacher tomorrow if you can have your phone back.

I understand why I got it confiscated. I was just curious as to whether or not a school can legally decide not to return your phone to you at the end of the school day.

If you found it was illegal, how would that help you? (I don't see how it can be illegal, but just assuming)

They may not have the right to keep your property out of hours - when you're not under their care.

I know, I understand that, I mean what would you do if it were shown to be illegal? Or are you just after the information?

Just curious really, and it could always help a friend if a similar thing happens to them.

[kamilb1998]

aw51 121565 said:

As an aside, in what ways would you like this teacher's lessons to be more interesting? Is it a "dry" subject or is it something interesting and the teacher just isn't enthusiastic?

No one ever achieves anything in her lessons because the majority of the class is constantly chatting and she spends most of the lesson having a go at people. She gives at least 4/5 people a detention every lesson and the board is usually full of names written down as warnings, usually around 10-15 names out of a class of 30! The way in which she leads her lessons are incredibly boring too. I think she comes from Slovakia - which by no means is a bad thing (!) - and she can sometimes be difficult to understand and sometimes asks the class for spellings or phrases & words.

[kamilb1998]

Rsohyes said:

Get revenge.

Buy a cheap PAYG phone, put CP on it, get it confiscated, inform police that your teacher is a pedo, jobs a goodun

Challenge accepted!

[kamilb1998]

aw51 121565 said:

Thanks for this - things ain't going too well in these lessons then! 15% get detentions, and 35-50% get warnings - every lesson??? That's not good...

What subject is it???

I would say that the situation is probably not going to improve unless the teacher makes significant changes to her teaching . I bet there isn't any positive feedback given to pupils either? There are ways to make things better, concentrating on the positive and not the negative (you'll see this in your other lessons, no doubt), but I doubt you'll see them in action here .

Let us know if you put my suggestions into action tomorrow .

In the meantime, Elvismiggell's third point (a few posts above this one) is a very valid one - these are the "golden days" for you, without worries about paying the bills or the rent or mortgage or where the money for the next tank of fuel or the next meal is coming from . Take advantage of them - I only wish I'd sussed this at the time (in the mid-1980s)...

It happens every single lesson. It's maths and her ways aren't going to change because she thinks it's the class at fault and not her. We had some teacher & lesson assessment sheets yesterday and the majority gave her negative feedback which may bring her Head of Department to have a word with her. If nothing changes however I am tempted to get a group of us together and speak to a senior member of staff and see if they can do anything about it.

[kamilb1998]

V8A*ndy said:

When/if you get your phone back......

Ask them what happened to the £50 quid of credit that was on it went to.

I would but the phone's on contract.

[kamilb1998]

PottyMouth said:

It is however entirely unacceptable to use a phone during a lesson. Why did you even take it out? No answers about "oh everyone was......." Why did YOU do it?

I understand that I shouldn't have had the phone out but it was in a part of the lesson where she was telling someone off (again) and I flicked the lock button (in my blazer pocket) to see what the notification I got towards the beginning of the lesson said.

[kamilb1998]

Engineer1 said:

Mr Gearchange said:

Not in my workplace.

Oh and BTW work and school are not the same thing. School is full of children. Hope that helps clarify.

This, at School you are in the Teacher's care and they are responsible for you.

Which is why she has the right to confiscate it, only I'm not sure whether legally they can decide to not return it at the end of the day and keep it when you are out of their care.

[kamilb1998]

I have spoken to the lady in the office who said that they don't really have a written policy concerning mobile phones, and that they are returned at the end of the day unless pupil is a repeat offender then only parents can get the phone back. She said that it was the decision of the teacher who confiscated it and to go speak to her, my form tutor or the Director of Teaching & Learning.

At registration I explained the issue to my form tutor who got back to me saying that she'd spoken to the Director of Teaching & Learning and she said that what the teacher who confiscated the phone had done was wrong and that she had had a word with her. I believe that she has confiscated other students' phones in a similar way before but no one ever bothered to question anyone about whether she can decide not to return them at the end of the day.