Verdict
The power does not depend on the pupil agreeing. It is triggered by reasonable grounds for suspecting a prohibited item, and you must be the head or authorised by them. If a pupil refuses, DfE expects you to find out why and escalate rather than force the issue — and there is a hard line in the statute. Reasonable force may be used to search for the legally prohibited items, never for items banned only by your school’s rules.
What the source actually says
The power itself, in statute:
“This section applies where a member of staff of a school in England— (a) has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a pupil at the school may have a prohibited item with him or her or in his or her possessions; and (b) falls within section 550ZB(1).”
“The member of staff may search the pupil (“P”) or P’s possessions for that item.”
— Education Act 1996, s.550ZA(1)–(2), current text as revised legislation
Consent appears nowhere in that test. DfE’s statutory guidance puts co-operation as something to seek, not something to obtain:
“The authorised member of staff should always seek the co-operation of the pupil before conducting a search. If the pupil is not willing to co-operate with the search, the member of staff should consider why this is.”
— Searching, screening and confiscation in schools, DfE, July 2023, para 19 DfE
“If a pupil continues to refuse to co-operate, the member of staff may sanction the pupil in line with the school’s behaviour policy, ensuring that they are responding to misbehaviour consistently and fairly.”
— ibid., para 20
“If the pupil still refuses to co-operate, the member of staff should assess whether it is appropriate to use reasonable force to conduct the search. A member of staff can use such force as is reasonable to search for any prohibited items identified in paragraph 3, but not to search for items which are identified only in the school rules.”
— ibid., para 22
That limit is statutory, not just guidance — the words in square brackets were inserted in 2012:
“A person exercising the power in section 550ZA [ F3 to search for an item within section 550ZA(3)(a) to (f) ] may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for exercising that power.”
— Education Act 1996, s.550ZB(5) legislation
The items at s.550ZA(3)(a)–(f) are knives and blades, offensive weapons, alcohol, controlled drugs, stolen articles, articles suspected of use in an offence or to cause injury or damage, and items specified in regulations. Paragraph (g) — “any other item which the school rules identify as an item for which a search may be made” — sits outside the force power.
Your school may still require it
Your school can be stricter than the law: a policy that only named staff search, that a senior leader is always called first, or that a refusal is escalated rather than pursued. Follow it — a school may lawfully narrow how a power is used, even though it cannot hand you a power Parliament withheld.
See also Can I be made to search a pupil?, Do I need a witness and a same-sex colleague to search a pupil? and Am I allowed to use reasonable force, or is that only for senior staff?.