School enforces phone ban with hand-held scanners

Pupils at Notley High School have to hand mobile phones in at the start of the day

School leaders have warned pupils flouting a mobile phone ban that hand-held scanners will be used to enforce the rules.

Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form, in Essex, said the devices would detect phones during spot checks.

Its policy, published online, said students would be isolated or suspended if they were found in possession of a phone.

However, Kip Hakes, a parent blogger from Colchester, said he felt the use of scanners was "extreme".

"It's a really difficult situation because in school, that's almost like a respite from phones - and so it should be," he said.

"I think the hand scanners do feel a little bit too far, but I can understand it in some instances."

'Spot checks'

The school's rules on mobile phones say they must be handed in at the start of the day and stored in a lockable unit.

Sixth form pupils at the same site, in Braintree, are permitted to use phones in their building, but not in social areas.

"If a student refuses to give a member of staff their mobile phone, they will be isolated or suspended, unless there is good reason," the policy reads.

It adds: "A hand-held scanner may be used to aid the spot check."

Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form said pupils going to sporting fixtures away from the school could have their mobile phones

It added that exemptions included specific medical grounds and pupils on trips away from the school.

Ann Marie Christian, a safeguarding and child protection consultant, said other schools across the country were also using scanners to detect devices.

"Parents need to go on the school website, search [for] policies and see what's there," she said.

"If they feel it's unfair then, of course, they can complain and have a conversation with leadership."

Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form has been contacted for comment.