I see the Poms are trying to ban school pupils using mobile phones during the school day, including lunchtime. How is this supposed to work? I would refuse to be searched by anyone other than a police officer acting on suspicion of criminal conduct. I would exercise my right to leave the curtilage during lunchtime. And I would communicate as I saw fit. All subject to negotiation with my parents of course :-)
From the sound of it, you would work your way down the system, until you ended up in a school that can only suspend pupils, as there is nowhere else to go if they expel them.
I was not so much stating my personal intent as proposing a scenario for debate. FWIW I think they would struggle to expel anyone for not following non-statutory guidance.
Surely, most school rules have nothing to do with statute?
But do school rules apply outside the school? The suggestion is that pupils will not be allowed to use mobile phones outside school premises during the lunch break.
In the UK, schools are legally responsible for the safety of pupils until the end of the day. The school will normally require written instructions from parents to allow the pupils to leave the premises during the day.
By all accounts from the Head Teacher's union its already implemented in may UK schools. It's political sound bite with no value.
Yes, of course they do.
On Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:31:51 +0000, Joe snipped-for-privacy@jretrading.com wrote: [snip]
Okay, maybe I am imagining difficulties that don't exist. I just wondered what other thought (OT).
My sons' school bans mobile phone use ont he premises. If caught using one, the phone is confiscated for a week and must be collected by a parent. Any teacher can override the rule to allow online research in class or to save a pupil trekking to the other side of the school and queuing to use the school phone, if a pupil needs to contact a parent.
The system works well.
As for being searched, that is not necessary, as phones can be carried, just not used. Although teachers *DO* have the power to search a pupil for weapons or substances and phones could be considered to be under the same permissions, as they can be used for bullying.
Leaving school at lunchtime is not an option. With almost 2000 pupils, the problems in the area (especially in the local supermarket) of large numbers of children at the same time would cause local resentment, so pupils are not allowed off the premises.
Yes. From at least when our eldest son started in year 7 (secondary school), they have not allowed mobile phones to be used in my sons' school - except under instruction of a teacher. He is now in his 3rd year of university.
Okay, this shows how out of date I am about school issues.
ISTR that the same applied in our son's and our daughter's schools. The implementations were subtly different in each, but amounted to you could have your phone at school, but not use it unless it was deemed necessary / helpful for a lesson.
Yup, I think most were of the same opinion - especially beneficial not having to compete for attention with screens.
I think ours could leave premises once in the sixth form...
Yes, that's actually the case for their 6th form too. I just didn't include that in the pupil numbers, as it is a completely separate building, with it's own head, it's own cafeteria, etc. and does not come under the control of the main school.
What? I could leave the premises from primary school onwards. I went home for my lunch.
Sounds like a Sixth Form College
Yes, but it is within the grounds of and officially part of the main school. Although run by its own head the entire school's reception is in the 6th form building and teachers do move between the two parts. It is both part of the main school and a separate 6th form college at the same time.
In infants I stayed for lunch, in juniors I went home for lunch most of the time, but stayed with a packed lunch some of the time. At secondary, I either stayed in the school, playing cards or badminton or went to the chip shop and then to a friend's house to mess around with his railway or fiddle about on the computer. We had an hour and a quarter for lunch.
In my son's school, a) they only get 30 minutes for lunch, so there is no time to go anywhere and b) nearly 2000 kids invading the local Tesco at lunchtime would be impossible, so they are not allowed out at all.
The disappearance of smaller secondary schools and the expansion of a few large ones has pretty well dictated that no-one can go out at lunchtime.
Similar round here. But on the same site are: 6th form college, secondary school, junior school, nursery, pupil referral unit, and a special one.
Yes, so could I, and a number of primary pupils went home for lunch, primary schools generally serving smaller catchment areas then.
But in all cases, the parents had to have given written permission for this (only once).
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