Guidance

Searching, screening and confiscation at school

Guidance explaining the powers schools have to screen and search pupils, and to confiscate items they find.

Published 14 February 2014
Last updated 18 January 2018 — see all updates
From:
Department for Education
Applies to:
England

Documents

Searching, screening and confiscation: advice for schools

Ref: DFE-00034-2014 PDF, 195KB, 16 pages

Details

This is for:

  • school leaders
  • school staff
  • governing bodies
  • local authorities

It applies to:

  • local-authority-maintained schools
  • academies and free schools
  • pupil referral units (these provide education for children who can’t go to a mainstream school)
  • non-maintained special schools (for children with special educational needs that the Secretary of State for Education has approved under section 342 of the Education Act 1996)

The guidance covers:

  • powers to search without consent
  • prohibited items schools can search for
  • powers to confiscate items found during searches
Published 14 February 2014
Last updated 18 January 2018 + show all updates
  1. Updated the advice to reflect changes made in the preventing and tackling bullying advice.
  2. Added link on p.13 to the UK Council for Child Internet Safety’s advice on responding to ‘Sexting in schools and colleges’.
  3. First published.