The reward should have been a valuable lesson for the importance of honesty.

Put a note on the lamppost: If the £20 lost here is yours, please form an orderly queue at the school.

I’d be tempted go in with him and ask them to explain to your son why people should hand things in when they find them, and why they should keep the money he found when no-one’s come to claim it.

Much ‘like’ for this from me. 🙂

I’d blame whoever decided to give it to the school in the first place.
Schools are skint what would you expect to happen?

A lot of police forces will no longer accept ‘found’ items – too much effort.

That’s the case here. They have a lost and found website instead. Hopefully the school put it on that website, I’ll have to check later on…..

I do not condone the school keeping this £20 at all. Simple isn’t theirs to make that decision.

I’d be reporting it to the Police (however ineffective they are) simply because there a rules about lost and found and your Son my get back the £20 in 6mths (I don’t know what the delay is)

But, I’d definitely be patting your Son on the back, and yourself for that matter. Seems like you’ve passed on some honesty in a world lacking of it.

Dear <school>,

My son found £20. I wanted to teach him good ethics and honesty by getting him to hand it into the lost property.

No one has came forward to claim the £20, so my son should be rewarded for doing the right thing by taking ownership of the £20.

You, however, have decided to keep the £20. Which by all definitions is theft.

This teaches my son that in future he should just not tell anyone and run home with the money, and that theft is the way to get what you want, which is the unethical and dishonest thing to do.

You are a school, think about this.

Regards,

—-

And CC in the headteacher if you have their email, and the local council governing body of education.

I’d also emphasise in the above letter that the son takes possession according to the law, not just that he “should be rewarded”. Otherwise good.

And CC in the headteacher

I thought he/she was involved in the theft! Or was that the principal? I got confused.

This is mind boggling.

Don’t call the police, let them deal with actual consequential crime.

While you are at it make sure you make a sizeable donation to the PTA for being a ridiculous self entitled person.

CC in the board of governors, PTA, local rags, everyone.

I’d be doing all I could to make them regret their decision….

While you are at it make sure you make a sizeable donation to the PTA for being a ridiculous self entitled person.

Why is the OP ‘self entitled’? Please explain why you think they are because I can’t see it for a moment.

nwmlarge – Member

This is mind boggling.

Don’t call the police, let them deal with actual consequential crime.

While you are at it make sure you make a sizeable donation to the PTA for being a ridiculous self entitled person.
You are the school’s head teacher and I claim my (the OP’s son’s ) £20

I’m not the head teacher.

Why is the OP or his son entitled to the £20?

It’s not theirs, it was chance that he found a £20 note, it could have been a crisp packet.

The money is being used by a school, an organisation I daresay in dire need of funding however small or seemingly insignificant.

I’m glad its gone to the school, regardless of an unscrupulous treasurer.

It will more than likely just be some Dorris in the office. I’d go and have a polite word and make your views clear.

If no happy resolution then escalate.

Because he found it and it hasn’t been claimed by its rightful owner, in these circumstances the law is “finders keepers”

Why is the OP or his son entitled to the £20?

It’s not theirs

Neither is it the school’s – it isn’t for them to decide to keep it for themselves, no matter how dire a situation they are in. If you were broke do you think it would entitle you to take money that wasn’t rightfully yours?

I’m glad its gone to the school, regardless of an unscrupulous treasurer.

If the OP’s son wishes to donate it, then all well and good, but it’s not the school’s decision to make.

I’m glad its gone to the school

And what amazing act of improvement could £20 make to a school? About as much as a crisp packet, I’d venture.

£20 buys a few books, maybe those are the books that sway the wayward youth to read rather than to nick mopeds and stab people? who knows.

Maybe the £20 would do well to offset the losses to the embezzling treasurer?

What great use is mateys son going to use it for?

the school made a decision based on saving time, if they had wanted the £20 for their own purposes they could have said to the son “how about making a charitable donation of it?” the son would have relented because hes a good guy, job done.

I feel like i’m owed £20 for this thread tbh

I was rather hoping you were going to donate £20 to your local school (or maybe all your local schools?) given they can clearly make better use of the money than you can.

£20 buys a few books, maybe those are the books that sway the wayward youth to read rather than to nick mopeds and stab people? who knows.

Or a round of drinks for the end of term pub trip.

£20 buys a few books, maybe those are the books that sway the wayward youth to read rather than to nick mopeds and stab people? who knows.

£20 spread eased into a school budget is going to do next to nothing, whereas the action of giving the lad back the £20 and maybe doing an assembly on the importance of honesty and rewarding good deeds might be something that the pupils would remember.

£20 buys a few books, maybe those are the books that sway the wayward youth to read rather than to nick mopeds and stab people

on the other hand the school keeping something that isn’t theirs is theft so they’re teaching the lad that theft is ok, and doing so in afar more effective manner than reading about it.
Oh look I found a computer in this classroom, I’m skint and would like a new computer.

so what have the school said?

the school made a decision based on saving time, if they had wanted the £20 for their own purposes they could have said to the son “how about making a charitable donation of it?” the son would have relented because hes a good guy, job done.

which is the boy’s decision to make, not the school’s – what is so difficult to understand about that?
or do you believe that a school stealing from its pupil is the way to educate children not to steal?

You could list all the good things in the world that £20 is good for, but it doesn’t stop the theft of the £20 in the first place, by a school – the very place you send your kids to learn how to act in the adult world.

I, for one, am outraged.

While you are at it make sure you make a sizeable donation to the PTA for being a ridiculous self entitled person.

Ha, ha, I’m part of the PTA and help to raise considerable funds (£1,000s every year) to help the school. It’s not the sum of money that concerns me, what annoys me is the lack of honesty being shown by the headteacher and the poor example it is setting to my son.

Incidentally, my friend who was going to go in and ‘claim it’ felt uncomfortable about lying to the school, so they still have it.

Thanks to those who have expressed support

£20 buys a few books, maybe those are the books that sway the wayward youth to read rather than to nick mopeds and stab people? who knows.

Wins the STW prize for living in a fantasy land. Click here to claim your £20.

I feel conned, dezb’s link doesn’t click

Sorry, I fixed it. But it’s not for you so don’t go claiming it and buying bikes and things.

I do not see what claim the school has on it as you state it was found outside the school premises if I read right. Surely it is up to you what happens to the money if it unclaimed not some small minded beurocrat. If it was me I would give it to son or favourite charity out of principal

Will the school even have a mechanism for putting £20 of unaccounted for money into their funds ?

100% on side with the OP here. The school has absolutely no right to the money and you should do all you can to make this higher profile.

Will the school even have a mechanism for putting £20 of unaccounted for money into their funds ?

They will probably account for it as a public donation, but in reality, it has probably already been spent down in the pub…

OP – you should be proud that your Son has done the right thing and equally shocked that a school has behaved in such a manner.

The LEA and Ofsted would probably be interested too

GlennQuagmire – Member
… but in reality, it has probably already been spent down in the pub…

😆 That will be 4 pints.

The LEA and Ofsted would probably be interested too

Great, on the one hand he gets to teach his son the importance of honesty.

And on the other he can show him how it’s better to be sneaky and underhand to get your own way on fairly trivial matters, rather than deal with problems face to face in a sensible way.

Double school day for jnr

School has apparantly taken legal advice and has now contacted me to say that they will be returning the £20. Quite why they needed to take ‘legal advice’ to realise that they were in the wrong staggers me……………..

I hope it was free legal advice 😉

quite. some common sense / call it ethics if you – reflection would have sufficed. !!

Good. Bloody idiots.