One strike and out: Liverpool's tough stance on pupils

Oct 22 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

HEADTEACHERS on Merseyside have been handed the power to exclude children for their first offence as councils and the government try to clamp down on bad behaviour in the classroom.

Liverpool City Council has written to every headteacher in the city to explain new powers which will allow them to permanently exclude children who threaten to assault, actually assault or commit other serious offences against fellow pupils or teachers.

In the past, many headteachers have opted only for temporary exclusions, fearing anything more severe may be overturned by appeal panels.

Liverpool’s move, which is being replicated across the region, comes as new figures show more than 13,970 children were suspended from the region’s schools for serious offences – also including racism and sexual misconduct – in the last year alone.

That equates to an astonishing 367 suspensions for every school week.

The Daily Post can also reveal that, in the last two years alone, more than 7,200 cases of threatened assault or actual assault on a teacher or member of staff have led to suspensions in local schools.

A further 200 suspensions in the region were due to cases of sexual misconduct – including cases against teachers.

Unions, however, believe many more cases go unreported because teachers fear they will be labelled troublemakers by under-pressure heads.

In the letter, Liverpool council urges schools to take everything into consideration before excluding pupils but adds that headteachers should use the new powers given to it via the Government.

It says: “There will, however, be exceptional circumstances where, in the headteacher’s judgement, it is appropriate to permanently exclude a child for a first or ‘one-off’ offence.

“These might include serious actual or threatened violence against another pupil or a member of staff, sexual abuse or assault, supplying an illegal drug, or carrying an offensive weapon.”

A spokesman for the NAS/UWT union said: “You have to put the numbers in context with the number of children at schools, but it is a real concern all the same.

“We have a situation where children as young as five and six are kicking out at teachers, and teachers sometimes won’t report it because they don’t know what support they will get.

“It is important schools exercise these new powers, and are able to feel that their decisions won’t be overturned.”

Earlier this year, the NUT threatened strike action at two Liverpool schools unless teachers got better protection from rowdy pupils. That led to talks which the union described as constructive.

A spokesman said: “Some schools have become very good at addressing issues such as assaults on teachers.

“Senior management teams must support teachers when they say things are happening. Teachers shouldn’t be made to feel as though they are at fault because something goes wrong.

“It’s in the interests of everyone that schools use their powers to show that troublemaking won’t be accepted.”

The cases of sexual assault being reported to headteachers aren’t just against pupils. The NUT says at least one young teacher has quit the profession in Merseyside after putting up with months of sexual innuendo in the classroom, which culminated in pupils sending her smutty text messages to her private mobile phone.

The NUT spokesman added: “Bullying by pupils is the single biggest reason teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

“Every year, money is spent training teachers and just under half leave the profession after five years – some of them young, really promising teachers and that is why we need more action to protect them.”

A spokesman for the Department of Children Families and Schools said: “Cases like this are unacceptable.

“We support heads in taking the tough decisions to exclude and have given them the powers they need to do so when necessary.

“Parents also have a vital role to play, especially with young children, and it is crucial that they work with schools to prevent bad behaviour. Heads can request parenting orders where parents simply refuse to play their part.”

OPINION: PAGE 10

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