Parents of a 15-year-old boy with autism are "furious" after his school took his mobile for three days after it rang in class.
Keane Gemmell forgot to switch his phone off when he went to school at Rushey Mead Academy in Leicester on September 24.
He only realised it had been left on when he received an unsolicited PPI call.
Teachers took Keane's phone and told him he could not have it back until the following Monday, LeicestershireLive reports.
Dad David Gemmell, 43, says Keane's mobile is "vital" as he uses it to communicate with family - especially when walking home from school.
David said: "Keane doesn't do well with roads due to his autism. When he leaves school, he walks part of the way with his friends and then we meet him for the rest of the journey.
"Not having his phone would have sent us into an unbelievable panic."
Teachers also kept Keane in detention for an hour after school and said his parents could collect the phone on Monday.
In a letter issued to parents in June, the school's phone policy says: "From the next academic year, we will be banning the use of mobile phones while students are anywhere on the school site.
"We understand that you may want your children to have mobile phones so that they are able to contact you at the end of the school day.
"Students will be allowed to have mobile phones on their person, but they must be ‘Off And Away All Day’."
David said he largely agreed with the school's policy but was "furious" at the teachers' decision to hold the phone over the weekend.
He said: "It was a huge issue for Keane. He relies on his phone for most things, most importantly to stay in touch with his support team."
The phone policy provided to LeicestershireLive from Rushey Mead Academy states that phones will be confiscated for 24 hours but does not mention anything about the weekend.
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It reads: "Confiscated phones will be taken to student support where the phone will be stored in the school safe and the name of the student will be recorded.
"The phone must be collected by a parent/guardian; it will not be returned to the student. Parents/guardians will receive a text.
"In the first instance, phones will be confiscated for 24 hours. Please allow at least 24 hours before you come to school to collect the phone.
"The phone will not be returned to the parent/guardian until it has been kept for at least 24 hours.
"In some cases, the phone will be kept longer if there are any issues when students are asked to hand over the phone."
David added: "I am disgusted that the school held on to the phone for so long.
"When I asked them about it, they said they hold the phone for 24 hours or until the next academic day. But it does not say that in the policy.
"On the Friday, we were very lucky that one of Keane's support staff allowed him to use their phone so he could call us and let us know what had happened.
"I dread to think what we would have been like if he didn't get in touch with us. We would have been in a tailspin.
"For him to have to walk home without a phone is a huge safeguarding issue as far I'm concerned.
"There's been loads of crime in the area recently and if they don't have a phone, what are they supposed to do? It's frightening."
On the day Keane's phone was confiscated, the family says the school sent out an email to parents with an update to its policy, including a reference to its intention to hold on to phones confiscated on Fridays until the following Monday.
David added: "It was only after I complained, that they issued the updated at 6.38pm on the Friday."
Gulbanu Kader, Director of Education, Secondary at The Mead Educational Trust, said: "We know that the best thing for our students’ wellbeing and mental health is for them to have time away from mobile phones while in school.
"In addition, the rise nationally of inappropriate use of social media and online bullying is something that concerns us.
"It’s our duty to keep all our students safe, and this contributed to our decision to ban the use of mobile phones on the school site.
"This is in line with many other schools nationally and is supported by the Department for Education who also recognise the detrimental impact mobile phones can have on children.
"Letters were sent to parents reminding them of the policy change at the start of the new year.
"Students were also reminded regularly in tutor time. We constantly review our policies and will be reflecting upon whether there is anything that we could have done better.
"We are pleased that our school community have been so supportive of the ban and understand the need for its implementation.
"Rushey Mead is an inclusive school and we work closely with our parents of children with special needs.
"We want to support all our students and we will always discuss ways to accommodate individual needs when parents approach us in a constructive and supportive manner."
