Scores of children in Shropshire are being expelled from school each year for attacking their teachers, new figures show.
About 15 were expelled in the county in 2004/05 for assaulting an adult and a further 121 were suspended for the same offence.
Across England, 1,270 youngsters at maintained primary, secondary and special schools were expelled and 18,480 were youngsters sent home for a “fixed period”.
But Shropshire county educations chiefs say the figures did not reflect the excellent work being undertaken in schools to tackle bad behaviour.
The data was disclosed by Schools Minister Jim Knight in a written parliamentary answer at the request of Theresa May, the Conservative MP for Maidenhead and the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.
Janice Chaplin, Shropshire County Council education inclusion officer, said: “The total number permanently excluded in 2005/06 was 18 compared out of a total of 38,000 pupils, well below the national average and a reduction on the figure of 38 for 2004/05.
Work
“Of these four were for physical assaults, and only 82 received a fixed-term exclusion.
“In 2004/05 five pupils were permanently excluded following physical assaults on teachers and 121 were given fixed-term exclusions.
“However, these figures do not reflect the excellent work done by schools and the local authority in dramatically reducing the number of pupils excluded.
“Every assault on staff is taken very seriously and the authority works hard in partnership with schools and parents to try and minimise these types of assault,” she added.
Commenting on today’s figures, Ludlow Conservative MP Philip Dunne said: “Maintaining discipline in our schools is a key task for headteachers and governing bodies.
“The authority of teachers has been steadily undermined in recent years and it is important that headteachers have the powers to maintain discipline in their schools so that students who want to learn can do so and teachers do not feel threatened as they are trying to teach.”
14 Comments
Discipline in schools? Authority of teachers? The simple answer - corporal punishment. I thank you.
Harold comes from an era when his namesake lost an eye at Hastings. Rule by fear is never a good thing and more children will be turned off education if they get a whipping than ever before. Just because Harold got a brusied backside at school does not mean that it was right or did him any good. I think Mr Peasbody has the rose tinted glasses on if he thinks that going back to the ritual often sadistic punishment of children is the answer.
an adult beating children with a big stick is not the answer.
As a father of 4 I would say we need to go along the line of getting prents more actively involved with the education of children and a bit more involved with the school itself.
More open days, more opportunities to build a relationship with the tracher and parent.
In Shropshire there is only one Child psychologist and one doctor that can diagnose aspergers, add,adhd etc and a waiting list of over one 1 year if they are lucky.
How many children are miising an education because of a lack of specialist help and then how many get expelled permanantly or for a fixed term because it is still not diagnosed, therefore get no held, but could easily get an ASBO, BASBO, CRASBO.
A parent has an active part to play, but so do teachers, the school, the LEA and everyone else that could get involved.
the problems young people experience now are not the same as when I, Harold and many others were children.
News reports, TV, Cable, Sky, internet, mobile phones all bring troubles from around the the world into the living room.
Maybe these factors should be part of the solution before weilding the big stick, wether it be from a teacher or anyone else.
Hug a hoodie, eh John?
No, not at all. What is wrong with hoodies, munks have worn them for centuries and not every young person wears them, as far as my lot go, they are loosing their fashion status.
I actually expected a little more of a reasoned debate from you Harold.
But surely, even you cannot consider the level of suuport for young people to anywhere near adequate based on what I have said.
So if you want kids beat with sticks, it would appear you’d condone bullying, ‘cos that is what many teachers were when wacking kids they took a dislike to.
Dear, dear john. What is a munk (sic)? I am not in the habit (geddit?) of having to look up your words in the Oxford English.
This aside, the young people of today have more choices, options, facilities and support than ever before in our history. If they are unable to find discipline in this day and age, God help us. However, all this filth on the television does not help matters.
I agree that excellent work is being done already to address problems in schools by the Education Services, however, the figures continue to be worrying even if they are reducing.
Teachers,Health Workers,and other staff can only do so much though, and they fight a losing battle if parents are not committed or educated in setting out healthy boundaries for their children to learn from. As many are aware, children learn from example respect for themselves and others through positive parenting. Many children will exhibit aggressive and violent behaviour when they do not have clear and firm boundaries set out to guide them through life.
My view is educate the parents to help themselves and their children,and provide ongoing Parenting and Citizenship skills in schools.
More discipline and punishment is needed but not necessarily in the physical form.
If kids are playing up, take the important stuff away from them - playstations, TV’s mobile phones, DVD players. If its at school, stop them from having their social time. Teachers need to be given the power back and this ‘you cant do this to me -what about my human rights?’ needs to be shoved out of the classroom as there is no place for it.
The Government seems to have forgotten that children are exactly thast - children - and whilst they thiunk they may know everything, routine, good firm guidelines and understanding will surely make things easier.
Also if a child hits a teacher, get the police involved and let them do their job, let the child go to youth court and let the have an appropriate punbishment instead of sticking a label on the child or diagnosing them with a loose stigma!
Schools need to come under closer scrutiny.
1 local school told off a pupil about a school tie, but did nothing to investigate a child who had been shot 3 times by a BB gun.
There is a them and us divide between teachers and parents, with no side being more to blame than the other, but both need to work together.
Young People do have alot to do, The Pictures, Ice Skating, Bowling, Theme parks, swimming, cadets, scouts, and other things, great if they get about £100 spending money a week.
Play grounds are disappering, like the one near us is going to be built on, then there is nothing, no youth club, no play area, long walks to the nearest football field.
I still maintain that parents and teachers need to develop better relationships, I know one school has a bit of a shock coming from its OFSTED report, with it not improving since the last inspection.
I am all for scrutinising schools, John. However, we mustn’t start adding costs to all activities that our youngsters can do. My son, Peregrine St. John Peasbody, enjoyed a wonderful childhood in the grounds here without needing to dip into his father’s wallet - hunting foxes, tickling trout and shooting peasants.
I can hardly believe some the above comments and can only assume that some of you are part of the Politically Correct Brigade that are weaking so much havoc in todays Society.
The kids of today are Learning … and Learning Fast what it is Possible to get away with in spite ASBO’s, CRASBO”s CRIMBO’s, BIMBO’s or any or kind of BO’s and it is increasing.
These kids are going to pass on these attitudes to their kids ad ifinitum until Society will have to impose the Physical Preventative Measures that you all seem to abhor just in order to Survive.
The sooner the Politically Correct Fanatics are swept away the sooner we can return to a More Well Ordered and Safer Society………
Harold I’m not quite convinced by you mate, but I do know this; inflicting violence on children to terrorize them into desired behaviours? Nice one. Very logical that. Personally I think that a surfeit of violence is actually the problem, but you’d like to add to it? I actually taught those excluded kids Harold - young offenders and the like, you know the ones. The hooded, the abusive, the rage-filled, the bullies, the juvenile sex offenders. And I can tell you that regardless of what those kids may have done or been there wasn’t one of them who wasn’t in that situation because of what had been originally inflicted on them by the adults in their lives. Antisocial kids, on the whole, are made and not born. And where do bullies learn to be bullies? By copying - watching the strong inflict violence on the weak. By all means Harold, bring even more violence into schools and lets see what happens eh?
Dear Ms Carter: let’s all have a big love-in, eh? Can you people not see that we’re in this social mess due to the way-out PC brigade and liberalisation of this country?
Harold …. Further comment on this topic is Futile ……….. There are Non so Blind as Those who will not See……………….