Theft

This offence may apply where a pupil dishonestly takes, keeps, conceals, or attempts to take property belonging to another pupil, a member of staff, the school, or any other person connected with the school community.

Step 1 – Determine the offence category

You should determine the offence category with reference only to the factors listed below. In order to determine the category you should assess culpability and harm.

Culpability

The level of culpability or blame is worked out by looking at all the factors involved in the incident. If there are elements that point to different levels of blame, you should weigh these up carefully and give the most relevant ones the right amount of importance to reach a fair judgement about the person’s level of responsibility.

A – High culpability

Leading role where the theft is part of a group activity
Significant planning, preparation, or premeditation
Theft involving concealment, deception, or deliberate targeting
Theft involving significant use or threat of force
Theft from a vulnerable pupil, member of staff, or another vulnerable person
Theft of an item of high monetary, personal, or sentimental value
Repeated or sustained offending during the same incident
Theft linked to intimidation, coercion, bullying, or another serious incident
Deliberate targeting of essential school property, confidential materials, keys, passes, devices, or equipment
Theft carried out in a way likely to cause serious distress, humiliation, or fear

B – Medium culpability

Some planning or prior discussion
Deliberate theft without the highest level of sophistication or preparation
Recklessness as to whether property was taken or retained
Shared involvement with others but without a leading role
Retaining or concealing stolen property with knowledge of what has happened
Theft causing clear upset or disruption, but without the most serious features of category A
Incident falling between categories A and C

C – Lesser culpability

Offence committed on impulse
No threat or force used
Limited planning and low-level offending
Involvement through coercion, intimidation, or exploitation by others
Limited role in a wider group incident
Lower-value theft with limited wider impact
Responsibility substantially reduced by age, immaturity, learning difficulty, or personal circumstances

Harm

Harm 1

Serious distress or significant emotional impact on the victim
Violence used or serious violence threatened against the victim
Theft causing substantial loss to the victim, whether monetary, personal, or sentimental
Theft of property essential to learning, safety, communication, medical need, or school operations
Serious disruption to the school day, school systems, or the wider school environment
Serious reputational impact on the school
Theft committed in a context that caused wider fear, disorder, or insecurity

Harm 2

Violence threatened but not used against the victim
Moderate emotional or practical impact on the victim
Theft causing a moderate degree of loss to the victim, whether monetary, personal, or sentimental
Noticeable disruption to school routines, staff time, or pastoral support
Harm falling between categories 1 and 3 because:
factors are present in 1 and 3 which balance each other out and/or
the harm falls between the factors described in 1 and 3

Harm 3

Limited physical or emotional impact on the victim
Low-value theft or attempted theft with limited loss
Property recovered quickly with limited wider consequence
Limited disruption to the school community

Step 2 – Decide the initial category range

The starting point applies to all offenders irrespective of personal circumstances or previous exclusions. It is at the school’s discretion how many exclusion days are served externally and internally within each category.

The response should reflect the seriousness of the theft, the impact on the victim, the value and significance of the item, and the wider context of the incident.

Step 3 – Take into consideration Aggravating and Mitigating factors

The school could consider any adjustment for any aggravating or mitigating factors. Below is a non-exhaustive list of additional factual elements providing the context of the offence and factors relating to the offender. Identify whether any combination of these, or other relevant factors, should result in an upward or downward adjustment from the starting point of punitive action.

Factors increasing seriousness (Aggravation Factors)

Other similar disregard of school rules in recent weeks
Previous similar incidents, having regard to the nature of any previous offence, its relevance to the current offence, and the time elapsed since the last incident
Theft from a vulnerable pupil, member of staff, or another person in a position of trust
Theft involving force, intimidation, coercion, or bullying
Deliberate concealment of the item or attempts to avoid accountability
Group offending, especially where the pupil led, encouraged, or organised others
Theft of an item of great economic, personal, or sentimental value
Theft committed in school, during a school activity, or while in school uniform
Significant disruption caused to the victim or the wider school community
Recording, sharing, or boasting about the incident through social media
Failure to comply with previous school sanctions
Impact on the reputation of the school

Factors reducing seriousness or reflecting personal mitigation

No previous similar incidents or no relevant/recent incidents
Genuine remorse Good character and/or exemplary conduct Isolated incident
Early admission and cooperation
Return of property or genuine efforts to put matters right
Age and/or lack of maturity
Additional Learning Needs Limited role in the incident
Family circumstances

Safeguarding issues should be considered separately and are not necessarily mitigating factors. Step 4 – Adjust starting point and category range Having taken into consideration all aggravating and mitigating factors, adjust the starting point as deemed best fit. Where the theft involves force, intimidation, significant planning, a vulnerable victim, high-value or high-sentimental-value property, or repeated offending, an upward adjustment is likely to be appropriate.

Where the incident is isolated, lower-level, impulsive, and causes limited harm, with genuine remorse and clear personal mitigation, a downward adjustment may be appropriate. Recovery of costs or compensation

Any decision about seeking repayment or contribution towards loss should be dealt with in line with the school’s own policy and applied consistently. That should be considered separately from the sanction itself.

Family financial circumstances may be relevant when considering any repayment arrangement, but should not determine the seriousness of the behaviour.