School violence claim

ACTION is needed to tackle abuse and violence in Oldham’s schools, according to a Conservative Parliamentary spokesman.

Government figures revealed 40 children from schools in Oldham were expelled for assaults and abuse, and 1,030 suspended — equivalent to six exclusions for each school day — in the last recorded year.

Kashif Ali, local Conservative Parliamentary spokesman, expressed concern as the figures showed that more than 1,000 pupils every school day are being suspended or expelled from schools across the country for physical assaults, verbal abuse and threatening behaviour on both pupils and teachers.

Mr Ali said that rules introduced since 1997 by the Labour Government made it more difficult for schools to expel pupils, which undermined the authority of head teachers and meant that disruptive children end up back at the same school as their victims.

He claimed that ministers also hindered teachers on “human rights” grounds from searching and confiscating items which might cause violence or disruption in schools.

Mr Ali said the Conservatives have pledged to give teachers new powers to tackle violence, to introduce home-school contracts to improve behaviour and to reform the exclusions process.

He said: “Despite the hard work of our teachers, it is clear that we have a serious problem with discipline in our schools.

“Unless there is good discipline, pupils can’t learn and teachers can’t teach.

“The children who suffer most are the poorest and the country as a whole loses out when teachers’ authority is undermined.

“A Conservative Government will give teachers in Oldham the power to restore discipline.”