Mobile Phone (and other electronic devices) Policy at Glenmore Park High School
While the school does not encourage students to bring mobile phones to school, we acknowledge that these devices may be important for student safety and for convenient contact amongst many families.
Students and parents should be aware that the following points also relate to other portable electrical devices.
· Students bring mobile phones to school at their own risk. The school accepts no responsibility for damage or loss of mobile phones or other portable devices.
· If a phone goes missing, the student should report it to a teacher and/or the Deputy Principals as soon as possible. While every effort will be made to investigate, recovery is not often possible.
· Students who are involved in the theft or illegal purchase of phones may be suspended and the police contacted.
· Students are not permitted to have mobile phones in examinations or formal assessments.
· Mobile phones must be turned off/ placed in bags during classes, meetings, and performances.
· Mobile phones must not be used to by-pass school procedures in relation to school-parent contact such as the notification of illness, accidents, discipline or emergencies. Parents should not contact their children by mobile phone during class time.
Privacy and other legal issues
Mobile phones must not be used to invade the privacy of others or breach the law. Students who use a mobile phone either by a direct phone call, text message or other function to: bully, harass, threaten, abuse, vilify or embarrass other students or staff will face disciplinary action which may lead to suspension and/or police contact.
Students must not photograph, video or record the images or voices of students or staff at any time without their specific permission. Publishing this material in any format may lead to suspension and/or police contact.
Procedures relating to mobile phones
If a staff member hears a mobile phone, sees a phone, or has good reason to suspect that a student is using the phone during class time, the staff member should ask the student to turn the phone off and place it in their bag.
· If there is a subsequent use of the device the staff member should direct the student to the Deputy Principal with a note where the student will receive a receipt and a return to class note.
If a student refuses to do this the teacher should refer the matter to the Head Teacher for defiance.
If the student complies the following will apply:
· First offence: Deputies keep phone for the rest of the day.
· Second: Phone kept to the end of the day and a parent will collect phone from the Deputy Principal.
· Third: Caution for suspension/afterschool detention based on persistent disobedience.
· Subsequent offences: suspension for persistent disobedience.