What to do, in order
- Ask for the class teacher first, then the office, Items usually sit in a classroom for a day or two before they reach a central box.
- Go through the box in person, Descriptions over the phone do not work at this volume. Someone has to look.
- Label everything, permanently, A name in a coat is the single highest-return intervention available here.
- Consider a tag in the bag, A tag in a school bag turns the whole question into a scan on arrival.
Where it usually turns up
- The classroom cloakroom: Where coats and bags live and get mixed up.
- The sports hall and changing rooms: The highest-loss area in any school.
- The central lost property box: Where everything ends up eventually.
Worth knowing
- A tag in a school bag is worth more than any search method, because it converts a hundred-item box into a twenty-second scan.
Lost somewhere else?
The first hour looks different depending on where it happened.
- How to find something you lost in an airport
- How to find something you left in a rental car
- How to find something you left at a swimming pool
- How to find something you left on a plane
- How to find something you left in a restaurant or bar
- See battery on nearby devices, Inside Scan
- Beacon: A device that only broadcasts
- All places, the complete list
Common questions
How long do I have to get something back from a school?
Items usually sit in a classroom for a day or two before they reach a central box.
Where does it usually turn up?
The classroom cloakroom is the most common. Where coats and bags live and get mixed up.
In the app: A pin recorded at the moment you were last there is what separates these cases. Read about Last-Seen Map.