MP Jeremy Hunt is calling for teachers to be given the powers they need to discipline pupils. The MP for south-west Surrey has welcomed new policy proposals announced by Conservative leader David Cameron to restore classroom discipline and raise standards of behaviour in schools. He says life in local communities is being marred by violence and disruption in schools - and on the streets from children playing truant. Bureaucratic rules imposed by the Government have made it harder for teachers to keep order, while false allegations and assaults on teachers have never been higher. Conservative proposals include: l Restoring the authority of headteachers by ending the right to appeal against exclusions to external panels. Parents would still have a right of appeal to school governors, who are the people who should decide such matters. l Changing the law so that teachers can physically restrain violent pupils if they need to. l Establishing new protections for teachers from false and malicious allegations. l Giving headteachers the freedom to pay bonuses to teachers who do a good job. l Allowing headteachers to ban any items they think may cause violence or disruption in schools. Mr Hunt said: "We are lucky to have excellent schools in Waverley, but sadly that is not true in many places in the country where good education is ruined by bad behaviour. "The problem doesn't lie with teachers, but with the rules and regulations which stop teachers instilling proper discipline. We need to give teachers and heads the powers they need to tackle disruptive kids, improve standards and ensure parents have a real choice over where to send their child." According to figures released by his office: l About 140,000 pupils were suspended from secondary schools for violence or persistent disruption in 2005-2006. There are over a quarter of a million persistent truants per year. There are nearly 100,000 custodial sentences for 10 to 17-year- olds per year. l Violence and disruption hits the poorest hardest: the rate of suspension for physical assault in primary schools in the most deprived areas (defined by the number in receipt of free school meals) is about 12 times higher than in schools in the least deprived areas. The rate of suspension for physical assaults in secondary schools in the most deprived areas is about eight times higher than in schools in the least deprived areas. l False allegations and assaults on teachers are at record levels: 59 per cent of headteachers say false allegations have been made against them or their staff within the past three years. Teacher surveys suggest a third of teachers have been physically attacked and nearly one in five has been threatened with a weapon. The capacity of teachers to deal with violent pupils is constrained by a spreading culture of "no touch" - an approach that forbids teachers to touch pupils. A recent study by Manchester University found that over half of schools now have either an explicit or implicit "no touch" policy. l Schools and teachers do not have the powers they need to keep order: there are too many legal and bureaucratic obstacles which prevent schools from excluding violent or disruptive pupils and hinder teachers from maintaining order in schools. It is easy for children to undermine authority by making false allegations against teachers.
