NO2ID

First off this is not an exhaustive list and i'm sure that there will be better information available at the Leave Them Kids Alone site http://www.leavethemkidsalone.com/

However in light of rather a lot of students/pupils & parents coming to this site for advice I thought I might be an idea to start a lil thread where we can all put up our suggestions in one easy to read thread.

Please if you have a specific issue to request information about do make a new topic however questions about the points raised here are welcome, hopefully this will become an uncluttered listing of helpful steps you can take

Ok then on with the Info:

- First thing to do is to write using special delivery (to ensure a signature!) to the following people;

The Head teacher at the school
Your local LEA representative

- The second step is to tell your children / or friends if your a student/pupil to exercise their right to refuse. No one is under any obligation to be fingerprinted and the schools must provide reasonable alternatives for those who arent. No one can deny you, your right to an education!

- You would be advised at this point not to talk to anyone with ties to the school about any steps you have taken. If you are invited to the school or into an office for a 'discussion' about your refusals then take a witness with you. A witness is under no obligation to do anything but observe & you are entitled to have one present. Good choices for witnesses would include people not related to you or the school in any way & ideally an adult. If you know any police / GPs / Driving Instructors etc they are great as witnesses if they can donate their time. That said parents, family friends or just another pupil/student will do.

You should refuse to talk to anyone about your stance on the scheme without a witness present. If you are a pupil please do take care when doing this not to appear as though you are been cheeky or rude, but do stick to your guns and make an appointment to see whoever it is at a later date.

Sorry to go on about it, but this is probably the most important point.

- Contact other pupils/students and parents, as many as you can to get the word out. I cant think many would approve and mass action will force a school into thinking carefully about its actions. Please pupils/students dont carry any grudges here about who you speak too, you must make a stand with as many as possible even other pupils you might hate or risk getting nowhere. I know its a lot to ask, but please do try

- Contact your local MP & your local papers (again by special delivery for the records it creates of delivery, no one can wriggle out of it then!) Highlight the treatment you are recieving and in your letter to your MP demand an answer as to why public servants are permitted to act in such a stasi like fashion. The idea to try to prevent getting a form letter returned to you from them, demand answers. Do get to know reporters at your local papers, do talk to them about your objections & treatment by the school (if you can plug LTKA or NO2ID please do )

- Keep all your records and keep them organised so you can find them at short notice, you never know when you might need them! A single file should be enough to hold all the bits of paper.

- Ahhh, most important & I did forget, ONLY and I cant stress this enough communicate offically in writing, demand written answers to your letters from the school (they will try to simply talk to you then weasle out of it later as there will be no record, with a letter you have evidence of what they have said!)


These are just a few basic steps, needless to say always stay peaceful and calm, dont use violence or overly aggresive resistance and keep the swearing out of any conversations you have. Any slip ups can and will be used against you by the school. And not to forget always be polite. Even if you are refusing to talk to them be polite, rudeness has no place in any of this.

If I think of anything else I shall post it & of course hopefully others will share their tips for dealing with schools as well

Good Luck to all

ps, sorry for this very long post.

A not about recording your meetings with school/LEA representatives.

You are more than entitled to record your meetings with school staff &/or LEA representatives. The DPA does not come into the equation, do not let them use this as a reason for why you cant record any meeting.

If you want to use the recording later as any kind of legal evidence then you will need to have at the start of the recording a statement by you that you will be recording the meeting for your records & you would be wise if you can get those involved giving their assent as well.

Place the recorder in full view but do not let any of the school/LEA staff touch or tamper with it in any fashion. If they are interested in the technology they can look at it after the meeting and once any recordings you have made are removed from the device.

If you covertly record the meeting it will not be admissable as evidence if you later need it as such, however it could show the underhand methods of the school/LEA and you can be sure that both local & even perhaps national papers will certailny be interested in copies of the recording. This is not without risk, if you are caught covertly recording the meeting then the school/LEA can terminate the meeting upon discovery annd refuse to talk to you again. Also they might try to use legal avenues to force you to hand over any recordings you may have made without permission (I dont know what law they would use, but you should expect this to be a possible outcome)

Hope this helps, again just a quick overview. Any questions about the points raised then do please ask.

If anyone else has any other tips or can elaborate on anything i've said please do contribute.

I'd just like to bump this and remind everyone that if their school hads avoided such systems in the past, this year they might find themselves under increased pressure so know how to fight them and keep a close eye on what they do.

Please I'd love to see what other advice and guidelines others have, so please post what you have found helpful