Britian’s Education Minister unveils new tools to crack down on unruly pupils
New tools include:
Schools are still suffering from ‘a real behaviour problem’ Bad classroom behaviour is still the main reason why teachers leave the profession, and why many people are turned off teaching, Mr Gove added.
Under the changes, pupils who make false allegations against teachers could be met with criminal proceedings. Teachers will also be able to break up fights and physically escort troublemakers out of the classroom.
Education Secretary Michael Gove spoke about the measures today in a bid to reverse the collapse in classroom discipline that has resulted in 1,000 children a day being suspended from school for abuse and assault.
As well as confiscating mobiles, which are banned in many classrooms, teachers will be allowed to search the phones for evidence of cyber-bullying and inappropriate material.
They will also automatically be given the benefit of the doubt when facing malicious allegations from children or parents – and given anonymity while the claims are investigated.
Under the new rules they will then be allowed to launch criminal action against their own pupils who have made false allegations about them. The youngsters will also face expulsion over the claims.
Teachers will also be allowed to hand out automatic detentions to misbehaving students, without having to give parents 24 hours’ notice.
‘The biggest barrier to entry is the fear of not being safe in the classroom. These are both indicators of a real behaviour problem.’
The new regime will remove the controversial ‘no touch’ rules, which banned teachers from any physical contact with pupils.
The guidance also gives teachers far greater protection against malicious complaints from pupils and their parents. One in four teachers has faced false allegations from a pupil, while one in six has had unfounded allegations made by parents.