Teaching respect

Thirteen years of Labour rule saw many good teachers lose their self-respect because too much emphasis was placed on the "rights" of those pupils who were motivated by a misplaced desire to cause as much disruption as possible.

Yet, while teachers facing accusations from pupils should have a right to retain their anonymity to prevent careers being ruined by malicious claims, there are still questions to be asked about the effectiveness of the Government's proposals.

Given the physical strength of young people today, is it right that teachers should be tasked with searching students for alcohol, drugs, stolen property, weapons and other items? Shouldn't this be a job for the police? And what do Ministers propose to do with the parents of such delinquents? Physical searches by teachers are hardly going to endear such youngsters, and their families, to the education system.

Furthermore, the Government needs to explain how excluded pupils should be taught in the future. Official figures show 2,230 pupils were expelled last year for physical assaults on teachers, or fellow pupils and tens of thousands more suspended.

Yet, in the overwhelming majority of cases, these children simply move to other schools – and headteachers have to undertake to accept "problem" pupils from neighbouring schools if they choose to expel a child.

Until this policy conundrum is resolved, the Government's well-intentioned measures are only likely to offer temporary respite to teachers, and all those well-behaved children who simply go to school to learn and enhance their future prospects.