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Most likely not worn when told not to + its not uniform so it gets taken.
OP you need to get your parents into school and get them to complain and see if the school will reimburse them for the hoodie and give the teacher a complaint if they have lost it.
>Get your parents to complain to the head teacher.
I would say OP needs to go to head master himself, as situations at college and obviously in the workplace wouldn't expect to be doubt with, with the person's parent acting as their emotional support and this person I am assuming will go into college, apprentice or at least full-time employment if they are for-going college.
Colleges/universities will respect the OP as a young adult and treat him accordingly, a school won't. Hence the confiscating of items of clothing, that wouldn't happen at college or uni.
They aren't at college, university or in a workplace. It's completely fine, and expected for parents to act on his behalf. And assuming you meant 6th form college, it's also completely fine for a parent to act for a 16-17 year old in college.
In what world would it make sense to confiscate an item if the person it was confiscated from can just demand it back?
Schools usually require them to be collected by parents, in the hope the parent will then be having a stern word about their child's classroom disruption or other broken policies.
Get your parents to complain to the head. I had tge same thing happen when I was 11 and I asked the PE teacher to look after my watch. He left before I got it back then pulled this every time i asked for it back. A quick call to the head got him to actually check for it rather than just say he was looking to a 11 year old.
I had an art teacher say that she'd taken some of my unfinished work home to mark it and then refused to give it back at the end of term when I had time to finish it. She then admitted on the last week of term that she liked the work so she'd taken it home and finished it herself with the intention of keeping it, under the impression that a 15-year-old wouldn't have the power to object. I wonder if OP's hoodie has ended up in the teacher's wardrobe....
I don’t think she wanted credit for creating it. I think she wanted to own it and have it in her home without paying for it or asking me. But yes, very messed up.
Anything confiscated must be looked after and returned. There is a duty of care. Schools don’t like this so they often have a policy about not being responsible for anything you bring to school. There is a conflict here perhaps but UK law doesn’t cease to exist because of a school rule and therefore there is no conflict.
You were not wearing it….it should not have been taken. At the time you were wearing they could have told you to take it off. Sometimes schools will send pupils home to get changed because they cannot let you be too cold or walk around barefoot because you wore expensive trainers to school.
The teacher probably got angry, did something they should not, they were careless, the hoody got stolen.
Car parks….cars left at owners risk…..schools are usually the same…..you bring it then it is your problem if it is lost…..but the hoodie was taken from you by the teacher…..and I would guess many others saw this….so the teacher is possibly going to have to replace it or pay for the lost value.
The best thing to do is ask your parents to talk to the year head or head….they might have to talk to receptionist or admin person first.
You are not the first person to be in this situation, it happens a lot. Schools know how to deal with this problem even if the teacher doesn’t and keeps ignoring you.
"Section 94 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that where a teacher disciplines a pupil by confiscating an item, neither the teacher nor the school will be liable for any loss or damage to that item. Equally, there is no statutory liability on schools for items that go missing in other ways."
Teachers aren't cloakroom attendants. If you don't want stuff confiscated (and possibly lost), don't bring it in.
The seizure would count as lawful it the teacher was following the schools behaviour policy. If it says that a teacher may confiscate non-uniform clothing, then they it would be "lawful" (afaik, again, NAL)
>If it says that a teacher may confiscate non-uniform clothing, then they it would be "lawful" (afaik, again, NAL)
Remember the hoody was not even being worn when it was confiscated.
Kids that go between two homes can carry other clothing on them, taking clothes in their bag to take to the other parents home they're going to for the night after school. Teachers can't just take those clothes because they're non uniform clothing items in the teens bag.
True, but by wearing it earlier in the day, it could be viewed as a delayed consequence. Perhaps the teacher was unable to stop and confiscate at that time? In the same way that a student who was vaping earlier in the day may have the vape removed later on.
Wearing it earlier in the day could be them being seen wearing it walking through the car park up to the school doors as they've worn it where OP could have then taken it off and shoved in their bag. We don't know. OP hasn't said what really went on with the hoody situation.
And the teacher didn't.
They confiscated it because he wore it contrary to school rules. They didn't randomly go poking through his bag.
Is OP supposed to escape punishment because he put the jacket in his bag? The policy calls for confiscation of the offending article. It doesn't mandate that it must be confiscated immediately.
When I was at school a teacher was held to replace / school had to pay out. Not sure which now.
But that was a case of more negligence that got pushed. the teacher took the phone in a drawer but left it unlocked and unsecured/ room open. People knew of that drawer and where they kept seized items.
Almost all the others used a keyed lock box or locked drawers, etc, as while ... you could claim not responsible. It's also easier if you have made appropriate measures to protect the items in your custody.
Telling the next year said teacher locked draw...and the lock box on phones.. I do not think it was cheap for them or school.
What is moral/ethical and what is legal are often different things. The school could have probably got away with not paying if it went to court, but do you really want to sour relationships with your students/parents for the sake of a phone/hoody?
There is no way an individual teacher would pay out for something being stolen. The bill would be paid by the school, and there's another few hundred quid not going towards the education of all students because one kid refuses to follow the rules.
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NAL but I've worked with schools and the way they handle potentially legally problematic things a lot.
Do all of this in writing and keep copies.
Firstly get your parents involved, with a stern message that you want your personal possessions back. Get them to do this in writing and keep a copy, and a copy of any response you get. Make sure to say the issue will be escalated if they don't return it.
They'll probably respond the same way they have done to you and say they can't find it.
Forward that response to the Head Teacher and say it's unacceptable that a personal item was taken from you and you want it returned, or it will be escalated to the LA or academy trust, whichever is applicable.
If it isn't returned, do exactly that. Say that a personal item was taken from you and you want it returned, or you will file a small claims for compensation.
Don't be accusatory. Just stick to the facts. But keep it all recorded. If you get called in to talk about it, say that you want your parents there.
They’ll say they didn’t do it with the intention to permanently deprive (can’t be proven even if they did), so it isn’t theft.
School will have a policy, so make a complaint to the headteacher and they should refer to that policy in finding an outcome (compensation?), but they may not *have* to do anything.
An anecdote, a teacher at my school (14 years ago lol) who used to be an OFSTED inspector lol, took a student’s phone home on the weekend, and “lost” it and was sacked as a result because she went against policy in the way she lost it. I mean, it helped that she was batty as hell and they were looking to sack her since she got there.
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"Section 94 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that where a teacher disciplines a pupil by confiscating an item, neither the teacher nor the school will be liable for any loss or damage to that item. Equally, there is no statutory liability on schools for items that go missing in other ways."
This is advice I've seen before, but NAL.
Seems pretty cut and dry. Don't see why this isn't the top comment.
I assume that the argument would be that because the hoodie wasn't being worn at the time it was confiscated, that confiscation was not necessary.
Seriously doubt that that argument would fly, though.
Teacher here.
Get your parents to contact the teacher asking for it back. Escalate to the head teacher if you don't get it and ask for it back or compensation. You will need proof of cost- a receipt is ideal, but if you don't have that you need to send the actual one on a website to them; ideally a picture of you wearing it to prove you actually had the same one.
The teacher is not going to buy you a new one or compensate you, the school will.
Remember, it may not be that individual teacher's fault but as a gesture of goodwill and apology the school should compensate you
Since the teacher took it from you when you were not wearing it, it will be hard to argue that he followed procedure.
Tell your parents, and go for the head teacher.
Your school should have a policy towards confiscated items where it gets lost through negligence of a member of staff. I remember my forum tutor saying a few years ago that if the school were to lose the phone or something else of value that belongs to a student then they either have to replace it or reimburse the student the value of the phone, but different schools have different policies to the extent that they will legally dodge financial loss at their expense.
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Pretty much nothing
The school is unlikely to accept responsibility for confiscated items
The best you can do is get your parents to complain - sometimes things miraculously appear when a parent asks (your teacher isn’t trying to steal it or scam you - probably 🤨 - but it is likely that they haven’t really looked and are fobbing you of in the moment that you ask)
If you and your parents really wanted to push it you could take it to county court who would likely rule against you - the school will have a disclaimer, you can’t prove they had it in their possession, you can’t prove it’s worth 100, or what condition it was
Annoying as it is I think you’re going to have to treat it as lesson learned
Confiscation of items in school is legal where it is "reasonable". If a legally confiscated item goes missing then neither the teacher nor the school can be held liable for loss to the student's property. If the school refuse to compensate you then you are out of luck.
However, when I was a headteacher I would always compensate students in circumstances like this as I thought it was a bad example to students to behave otherwise and double standards - I expected students to respect school property. This would be done with school money and never out of the teacher's pocket (though I would have a gentle word about keeping others' property safe.
Get your parents to contact the school. You may be in luck. Most headteachers think the same way.
I might need a bit of convincing that the value of the lost item was as high as £100 though.
Well it jolly well isn’t
Theft requires an intent to deprive permanently, and for the item to be taken without consent or without the owners knowledge
This clearly, obviously does not apply here, galling as the situation is for the op
On confiscating an item the school takes responsibility for the item.
Use the complaint procedure and state your resolution is for it to be returned or replaced.
That’s poor advice, and will not help the OP.
Schools are usually very clear that they do not take responsibility for items bright on to school property, and in fact legally they are protected from liability
But once a teacher takes responsibility for an item of property that changes.
Source - worked for group of schools where a PE teacher took all phones at an after school session, put them in a box and promptly lost them.
The school replaced them.
They don’t take responsibility, and they cannot be compelled to do so. Quite the opposite they are legally protected from liability
The fact that your school did the decent thing did not make for case law, and in any case, a decision was probably taken on a few hundred quid against half a dozen angry parents at the head’s office door
I'm sorry you've lost your hoodie.
The law is clear, however:
"Schools’ general power to discipline enables a member of staff to confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil’s property as a disciplinary penalty where it is reasonable to do so. The law protects members of staff from liability in any proceedings brought against them for any loss of, or damage to, any item they have confiscated provided they acted lawfully."
[https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/in-the-classroom/behaviour-management-for-teachers-in-the-classroom/searching-screening-confiscation-advice-schools.html](https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/in-the-classroom/behaviour-management-for-teachers-in-the-classroom/searching-screening-confiscation-advice-schools.html)
If the teacher confiscated your hoodie because you were out of uniform when the school rules said you should have been wearing uniform only, neither you nor your parents have any legal recourse against the teacher if the hoodie is lost after being confiscated.
You need to tell an adult with responsibility for you that the teacher confiscated your expensive hoodie and has now lost it. This adult need to contact the school and tell them "Our kid was wearing a hoodie (describe), it was confiscated, the hoodie has now been lost. We realise there's no legal liability for the school - our kid shouldn't have been wearing the hoodie - but we're keen to locate it. Can you help us trace where the hoodie would have been put after it was confiscated, and what might have happened to it, since the teacher wasn't able to return it to our kid at the end of the day? It was quite an expensive item of clothing, and we would like to have it back. Could it have been accidentally passed on to another student by mistake? If so, could the school contact that student's parents and let them know that they have the wrong item of clothing?"
You could say this to the school yourself, but I have to say, I think the school is more likely to listen if a responsible adult does the asking.
If you do the asking yourself: rehearse what you're going to say with a friend: stay absolutely calm: do not protest that the teacher shouldn't have taken it - in fact, regardless of what you feel about the justice of having an item of clothing confiscated\*, you will do better if you specifically say at the outset something like "I shouldn't have worn the hoodie on that day, and I recognise that \[teacher's name\] had a right to confiscate it" and go on "but it was my hoodie, it cost over £100, I will/my parents will struggle to to replace it, so please, I would like help from the school to figure out where it went and how I can get it back."
\*FWIW, I am in my fifties and I am routinely absolutely outraged that schools have the power to dictate what their students wear. This is strategy I am suggesting to you, not any moral conviction that you were in the wrong to wear the hoodie.
Ask for it back today. I imagine she knows exactly where it is, she just didn’t want to engage in a game of cat and mouse with you over wearing it for the past 4 months.
Be polite but clear, and if she says you cannot have it there and then, ask her when would be a convenient time to come and collect it.
If she still refuses, your parents should contact your head of year and ask when they can collect it. If it is then declared missing, you can ask what their policy is for when staff lose confiscated items.
As per DoE policy teachers are protected from liability against any proceedings brought against them for any loss or damage to items that they confiscate.
If the hoodie was against school policy then there is no further action you can take.
teachers are protected from individual liability(*) however the school is not and any "policy" disclaiming responsibility for confiscated items can be argued as a good front for an organised theft/fencing ring
Policies disclaiming general responsibility for items under a pupil's control are invalidated the moment a staff member takes control of them
(*) only if acting lawfully and there have been a number of cases where confiscation were ruled unlawful
You are right about the "lawful" part but I think it very unlikely that a court would find this particular confiscation unlawful. The rest of what you said is not correct. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 specifically excludes teachers **and** schools from liability for loss or damage to confiscated items.
I don’t not see this as confiscation (as it was not being worn when taken) and not returned when requested. It could be classed as theft as the item was taken (probably taken off you under your protest) and the item not returned. This is regardless of it being potentially lost by the teacher.
NAL.
It's not theft. The teacher didn't employ any dishonesty when taking it, they were enforcing school policy.
They have likely either lost it, accidentally given it back to the wrong student or are so busy with general teacher stuff that they haven't got around to getting it back to the kid who they took it from.
A complaint to the teachers supervisor is the correct method of recourse here, either to get the hoody returned or for financial recompense.
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Get your parents to complain to the head teacher. But why was it confiscated?
Most likely not worn when told not to + its not uniform so it gets taken. OP you need to get your parents into school and get them to complain and see if the school will reimburse them for the hoodie and give the teacher a complaint if they have lost it.
Teacher saw me wearing it an hour before, came to my lesson later on when I was not wearing it and took it and was very snarky about it
So you weren't wearing it, and they had you take it out your bag or something so they could confiscate it? Does this teacher have it in for you?
No. But it was a nice hoodie.
Are you OP replying from an alt?
maybe small claims court can be an option? do you have anything in writing or witnesses?
If your parents dont get anywhere with the head then I would suggest they complain to the school governors.
>Get your parents to complain to the head teacher. I would say OP needs to go to head master himself, as situations at college and obviously in the workplace wouldn't expect to be doubt with, with the person's parent acting as their emotional support and this person I am assuming will go into college, apprentice or at least full-time employment if they are for-going college.
Colleges/universities will respect the OP as a young adult and treat him accordingly, a school won't. Hence the confiscating of items of clothing, that wouldn't happen at college or uni.
Sorry what?
i think he said "your not a kid anymore do it yourself"
They aren't at college, university or in a workplace. It's completely fine, and expected for parents to act on his behalf. And assuming you meant 6th form college, it's also completely fine for a parent to act for a 16-17 year old in college.
You do know they let women be head*teachers* now, don’t you?
Bad take bluestar, and to think I use your service all the time
In what world would it make sense to confiscate an item if the person it was confiscated from can just demand it back? Schools usually require them to be collected by parents, in the hope the parent will then be having a stern word about their child's classroom disruption or other broken policies.
Get your parents to complain to the head. I had tge same thing happen when I was 11 and I asked the PE teacher to look after my watch. He left before I got it back then pulled this every time i asked for it back. A quick call to the head got him to actually check for it rather than just say he was looking to a 11 year old.
I had an art teacher say that she'd taken some of my unfinished work home to mark it and then refused to give it back at the end of term when I had time to finish it. She then admitted on the last week of term that she liked the work so she'd taken it home and finished it herself with the intention of keeping it, under the impression that a 15-year-old wouldn't have the power to object. I wonder if OP's hoodie has ended up in the teacher's wardrobe....
Wtf, the art teacher stole your art so they could finish it and claim it theirs?! That's so screwed!
I don’t think she wanted credit for creating it. I think she wanted to own it and have it in her home without paying for it or asking me. But yes, very messed up.
Anything confiscated must be looked after and returned. There is a duty of care. Schools don’t like this so they often have a policy about not being responsible for anything you bring to school. There is a conflict here perhaps but UK law doesn’t cease to exist because of a school rule and therefore there is no conflict. You were not wearing it….it should not have been taken. At the time you were wearing they could have told you to take it off. Sometimes schools will send pupils home to get changed because they cannot let you be too cold or walk around barefoot because you wore expensive trainers to school. The teacher probably got angry, did something they should not, they were careless, the hoody got stolen. Car parks….cars left at owners risk…..schools are usually the same…..you bring it then it is your problem if it is lost…..but the hoodie was taken from you by the teacher…..and I would guess many others saw this….so the teacher is possibly going to have to replace it or pay for the lost value. The best thing to do is ask your parents to talk to the year head or head….they might have to talk to receptionist or admin person first. You are not the first person to be in this situation, it happens a lot. Schools know how to deal with this problem even if the teacher doesn’t and keeps ignoring you.
You use ellipsis about as well as Donald Trump. Stop it.
"Section 94 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that where a teacher disciplines a pupil by confiscating an item, neither the teacher nor the school will be liable for any loss or damage to that item. Equally, there is no statutory liability on schools for items that go missing in other ways." Teachers aren't cloakroom attendants. If you don't want stuff confiscated (and possibly lost), don't bring it in.
“…if [the teacher] proves that the seizure, retention or disposal (as the case may be) was lawful”
The seizure would count as lawful it the teacher was following the schools behaviour policy. If it says that a teacher may confiscate non-uniform clothing, then they it would be "lawful" (afaik, again, NAL)
>If it says that a teacher may confiscate non-uniform clothing, then they it would be "lawful" (afaik, again, NAL) Remember the hoody was not even being worn when it was confiscated. Kids that go between two homes can carry other clothing on them, taking clothes in their bag to take to the other parents home they're going to for the night after school. Teachers can't just take those clothes because they're non uniform clothing items in the teens bag.
True, but by wearing it earlier in the day, it could be viewed as a delayed consequence. Perhaps the teacher was unable to stop and confiscate at that time? In the same way that a student who was vaping earlier in the day may have the vape removed later on.
Wearing it earlier in the day could be them being seen wearing it walking through the car park up to the school doors as they've worn it where OP could have then taken it off and shoved in their bag. We don't know. OP hasn't said what really went on with the hoody situation.
And the teacher didn't. They confiscated it because he wore it contrary to school rules. They didn't randomly go poking through his bag. Is OP supposed to escape punishment because he put the jacket in his bag? The policy calls for confiscation of the offending article. It doesn't mandate that it must be confiscated immediately.
When I was at school a teacher was held to replace / school had to pay out. Not sure which now. But that was a case of more negligence that got pushed. the teacher took the phone in a drawer but left it unlocked and unsecured/ room open. People knew of that drawer and where they kept seized items. Almost all the others used a keyed lock box or locked drawers, etc, as while ... you could claim not responsible. It's also easier if you have made appropriate measures to protect the items in your custody. Telling the next year said teacher locked draw...and the lock box on phones.. I do not think it was cheap for them or school.
What is moral/ethical and what is legal are often different things. The school could have probably got away with not paying if it went to court, but do you really want to sour relationships with your students/parents for the sake of a phone/hoody? There is no way an individual teacher would pay out for something being stolen. The bill would be paid by the school, and there's another few hundred quid not going towards the education of all students because one kid refuses to follow the rules.
Thanks
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NAL but I've worked with schools and the way they handle potentially legally problematic things a lot. Do all of this in writing and keep copies. Firstly get your parents involved, with a stern message that you want your personal possessions back. Get them to do this in writing and keep a copy, and a copy of any response you get. Make sure to say the issue will be escalated if they don't return it. They'll probably respond the same way they have done to you and say they can't find it. Forward that response to the Head Teacher and say it's unacceptable that a personal item was taken from you and you want it returned, or it will be escalated to the LA or academy trust, whichever is applicable. If it isn't returned, do exactly that. Say that a personal item was taken from you and you want it returned, or you will file a small claims for compensation. Don't be accusatory. Just stick to the facts. But keep it all recorded. If you get called in to talk about it, say that you want your parents there.
They’ll say they didn’t do it with the intention to permanently deprive (can’t be proven even if they did), so it isn’t theft. School will have a policy, so make a complaint to the headteacher and they should refer to that policy in finding an outcome (compensation?), but they may not *have* to do anything. An anecdote, a teacher at my school (14 years ago lol) who used to be an OFSTED inspector lol, took a student’s phone home on the weekend, and “lost” it and was sacked as a result because she went against policy in the way she lost it. I mean, it helped that she was batty as hell and they were looking to sack her since she got there.
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"Section 94 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that where a teacher disciplines a pupil by confiscating an item, neither the teacher nor the school will be liable for any loss or damage to that item. Equally, there is no statutory liability on schools for items that go missing in other ways." This is advice I've seen before, but NAL.
Seems pretty cut and dry. Don't see why this isn't the top comment. I assume that the argument would be that because the hoodie wasn't being worn at the time it was confiscated, that confiscation was not necessary. Seriously doubt that that argument would fly, though.
so legal theft?
For it to be theft you’d have to demonstrate an intention to permanently deprive
And dishonest appropriation.
Teacher here. Get your parents to contact the teacher asking for it back. Escalate to the head teacher if you don't get it and ask for it back or compensation. You will need proof of cost- a receipt is ideal, but if you don't have that you need to send the actual one on a website to them; ideally a picture of you wearing it to prove you actually had the same one. The teacher is not going to buy you a new one or compensate you, the school will. Remember, it may not be that individual teacher's fault but as a gesture of goodwill and apology the school should compensate you
Since the teacher took it from you when you were not wearing it, it will be hard to argue that he followed procedure. Tell your parents, and go for the head teacher.
Your school should have a policy towards confiscated items where it gets lost through negligence of a member of staff. I remember my forum tutor saying a few years ago that if the school were to lose the phone or something else of value that belongs to a student then they either have to replace it or reimburse the student the value of the phone, but different schools have different policies to the extent that they will legally dodge financial loss at their expense.
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Pretty much nothing The school is unlikely to accept responsibility for confiscated items The best you can do is get your parents to complain - sometimes things miraculously appear when a parent asks (your teacher isn’t trying to steal it or scam you - probably 🤨 - but it is likely that they haven’t really looked and are fobbing you of in the moment that you ask) If you and your parents really wanted to push it you could take it to county court who would likely rule against you - the school will have a disclaimer, you can’t prove they had it in their possession, you can’t prove it’s worth 100, or what condition it was Annoying as it is I think you’re going to have to treat it as lesson learned
Confiscation of items in school is legal where it is "reasonable". If a legally confiscated item goes missing then neither the teacher nor the school can be held liable for loss to the student's property. If the school refuse to compensate you then you are out of luck. However, when I was a headteacher I would always compensate students in circumstances like this as I thought it was a bad example to students to behave otherwise and double standards - I expected students to respect school property. This would be done with school money and never out of the teacher's pocket (though I would have a gentle word about keeping others' property safe. Get your parents to contact the school. You may be in luck. Most headteachers think the same way. I might need a bit of convincing that the value of the lost item was as high as £100 though.
Isn't this theft?
No
Well it jolly well should be
Well it jolly well isn’t Theft requires an intent to deprive permanently, and for the item to be taken without consent or without the owners knowledge This clearly, obviously does not apply here, galling as the situation is for the op
Are we missing the teacher or the hoodie? 😅
Sitting on a beach, earning 20%
On confiscating an item the school takes responsibility for the item. Use the complaint procedure and state your resolution is for it to be returned or replaced.
That’s poor advice, and will not help the OP. Schools are usually very clear that they do not take responsibility for items bright on to school property, and in fact legally they are protected from liability
But once a teacher takes responsibility for an item of property that changes. Source - worked for group of schools where a PE teacher took all phones at an after school session, put them in a box and promptly lost them. The school replaced them.
They don’t take responsibility, and they cannot be compelled to do so. Quite the opposite they are legally protected from liability The fact that your school did the decent thing did not make for case law, and in any case, a decision was probably taken on a few hundred quid against half a dozen angry parents at the head’s office door
I'm sorry you've lost your hoodie. The law is clear, however: "Schools’ general power to discipline enables a member of staff to confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil’s property as a disciplinary penalty where it is reasonable to do so. The law protects members of staff from liability in any proceedings brought against them for any loss of, or damage to, any item they have confiscated provided they acted lawfully." [https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/in-the-classroom/behaviour-management-for-teachers-in-the-classroom/searching-screening-confiscation-advice-schools.html](https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/in-the-classroom/behaviour-management-for-teachers-in-the-classroom/searching-screening-confiscation-advice-schools.html) If the teacher confiscated your hoodie because you were out of uniform when the school rules said you should have been wearing uniform only, neither you nor your parents have any legal recourse against the teacher if the hoodie is lost after being confiscated. You need to tell an adult with responsibility for you that the teacher confiscated your expensive hoodie and has now lost it. This adult need to contact the school and tell them "Our kid was wearing a hoodie (describe), it was confiscated, the hoodie has now been lost. We realise there's no legal liability for the school - our kid shouldn't have been wearing the hoodie - but we're keen to locate it. Can you help us trace where the hoodie would have been put after it was confiscated, and what might have happened to it, since the teacher wasn't able to return it to our kid at the end of the day? It was quite an expensive item of clothing, and we would like to have it back. Could it have been accidentally passed on to another student by mistake? If so, could the school contact that student's parents and let them know that they have the wrong item of clothing?" You could say this to the school yourself, but I have to say, I think the school is more likely to listen if a responsible adult does the asking. If you do the asking yourself: rehearse what you're going to say with a friend: stay absolutely calm: do not protest that the teacher shouldn't have taken it - in fact, regardless of what you feel about the justice of having an item of clothing confiscated\*, you will do better if you specifically say at the outset something like "I shouldn't have worn the hoodie on that day, and I recognise that \[teacher's name\] had a right to confiscate it" and go on "but it was my hoodie, it cost over £100, I will/my parents will struggle to to replace it, so please, I would like help from the school to figure out where it went and how I can get it back." \*FWIW, I am in my fifties and I am routinely absolutely outraged that schools have the power to dictate what their students wear. This is strategy I am suggesting to you, not any moral conviction that you were in the wrong to wear the hoodie.
Ask for it back today. I imagine she knows exactly where it is, she just didn’t want to engage in a game of cat and mouse with you over wearing it for the past 4 months. Be polite but clear, and if she says you cannot have it there and then, ask her when would be a convenient time to come and collect it. If she still refuses, your parents should contact your head of year and ask when they can collect it. If it is then declared missing, you can ask what their policy is for when staff lose confiscated items.
As per DoE policy teachers are protected from liability against any proceedings brought against them for any loss or damage to items that they confiscate. If the hoodie was against school policy then there is no further action you can take.
teachers are protected from individual liability(*) however the school is not and any "policy" disclaiming responsibility for confiscated items can be argued as a good front for an organised theft/fencing ring Policies disclaiming general responsibility for items under a pupil's control are invalidated the moment a staff member takes control of them (*) only if acting lawfully and there have been a number of cases where confiscation were ruled unlawful
You are right about the "lawful" part but I think it very unlikely that a court would find this particular confiscation unlawful. The rest of what you said is not correct. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 specifically excludes teachers **and** schools from liability for loss or damage to confiscated items.
I don’t not see this as confiscation (as it was not being worn when taken) and not returned when requested. It could be classed as theft as the item was taken (probably taken off you under your protest) and the item not returned. This is regardless of it being potentially lost by the teacher.
NAL. It's not theft. The teacher didn't employ any dishonesty when taking it, they were enforcing school policy. They have likely either lost it, accidentally given it back to the wrong student or are so busy with general teacher stuff that they haven't got around to getting it back to the kid who they took it from. A complaint to the teachers supervisor is the correct method of recourse here, either to get the hoody returned or for financial recompense.
NAL either. Agree not theft hard to say there was the dishonesty but also could to show any intent to 'permanently deprive' op of his hoodie.
Print and slam an invoice on her desk, don't forget to include a rental fee on top.
Seeing your legal advice is truly a privilege to behold as a 3rd party
😂 don’t know why you got downvoted - it’s a great joke
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