Welcome purge on school pests

Oct 22 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

FOR a government whose mantra was "education" when it came into office a decade ago, today’s report about the collapse of discipline in many of Merseyside’s schools makes for shocking and shameful reading.

We are constantly assured by ministers that their education policies are working – however, the latest figures tell a different story.

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 184 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.

The consequence of this is that many young and promising teachers are now leaving the profession after five years or less, meaning that all the time and money that has gone into training them has been wasted.

In the light of the appalling state of affairs that would appear to exist in some schools, it is both welcome and not surprising that headteachers on Merseyside have been handed the power to exclude children for their first offence.

This is mainly aimed at children who threaten to assault, actually assault or commit other serious offences against fellow pupils or teachers.

However, the full burden of responsibility cannot and should not be carried by schools or local education authorities. It is up to parents to ensure they raise their children in such a way that they do not disrupt their own or others’ schooling because of bad behaviour.