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.

[pwrc]

If I was a teacher I'd just drop the bd thing straight into a blender, not saying this about you necessarily but they are such a massive cause of learning disruption. It may be your property but what is more important?

[IT1GTR]

I would take the view that its still your property and can be demanded back, or certainly can be demanded back by a parent or guardian on your behalf.

Assuming that there is nothing illegal with the phone I would say your entitled to it back, however they could take the opposite angle and ban the device from the grounds. However if you don't use it, how will they know?

[R0G]

They have the right to look after it whilst you are in their care but not outside those times

[Snowboy]

It may depend on whether your school has some sort of contract which your parents had to sign about their punishment scheme.

Whatever the law is, I think it's bloody good that your school has the balls to punish you in such a way you get annoyed about it. That's proper punishment.
Next time, keep the phone turned off in class and you won't get it confiscated.

You are probably under 16.
In which case I believe that legally the phone belongs to your parents (as do all your belongings).
Your parents may be able to demand it back – but, I hope your parents will just laugh at you and support the school.

[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.

[Tiggsy]

lol, kids!

Think of it like this - they arent allowed to keep it, but will and you arent allowed to play with it in class, but did. Now, two wrongs dont make a right but, luckily for the school, you play angry birds when such lessons are being taught!

Edited by Tiggsy on Wednesday 16th November 17:19

[pip t]

This is a masssive bugbear of mine... it's YOUR (or your parents) property. They should not keep it from you for longer than you are on school premises. As far as I'm concerned to keep it from you for longer than this is little better than theft (Though I know legally it probably wouldn't count as theft). So yes, I'd say you should have it back pronto, and if you were my child, I would be in there demanding it's return.

That said - it's incredibly rude to use your phone during class, or for your phone to cause disturbance to a class. So as others have said, if you don't want it confiscated, don't get it out during class, and keep it silenced! Simples!

[R0G]

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

[jazzyjeff]

kamilb1998 said:

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.

I presume that the teacher inviting your parents in to collect your phone would solve the problem?

However, conversely, it would give the teacher an opportunity to talk through with your parents why it was taken from you in the first place...

[jazzyjeff]

kamilb1998 said:

it's just this case with a teacher who doesn't get on with students and has no control over 80% of her classes.

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

[jazzyjeff]

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

What?

Yes, clearly in extreme danger. That's why all previous generations of schoolkids who didn't have phones died before they reached parenting age. It logically follows that you are alone on this planet and all the replies you see here are products of your fevered imagination

[tr7v8]

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 . Maybe you being deprived of your phone for a few days will focus you on not using it in future. In other words tough! I suspect this won't go the way the OP wants it to.

[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.

[bigdods]

R0G said:

To my mind the school has now put you in danger

How did we ever survive all these dangers before mobile phones were invented. If either of my sons decide to use their phones in class and have them confiscated then I am happy for the school to keep it for a day to teach them a lesson.

They have phones on the strict understanding that they do not use them in class, if that rule is broken they will also find a punishment waiting for them at home.

[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.

[jazzyjeff]

kamilb1998 said:

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.

Fair enough. Attention span does extend with life experience, if that helps. In the meantime, if she's really that hopeless in maintaining the class's attention, why don't a group of you tell her that you're just not engaged? Or is it the case that you don't you want to learn?

[R0G]

bigdods said:

If either of my sons decide to use their phones in class and have them confiscated then I am happy for the school to keep it for a day to teach them a lesson.

For the duration in which they are in the care of the school - I agree with you
But not after so give them back their property when school ends unless the parent gives permission to do other

[Deva Link]

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?

R0G said:

To my mind the school has now put you in danger

Why didn't you just write "won't somebody think of the children".

[wildoliver]

I seem to have stumbled in to mumsnet by mistake again!