Schools will also have the power to act on bad behaviour by collaborating with each other to set up more “cooling off” units for permanently disruptive pupils in an attempt to restore teachers’ authority and tackle bad behaviour in the classroom.

The move to strengthen teachers’ disciplinary powers comes after repeated calls by teaching unions and schools’ taskforces for a new law to give teachers an automatic right to discipline pupils.

The measures, which will be in the education Bill in February, will give headteachers the right to delegate the power to discipline pupils to all teachers and assistants as they see fit. Those who will exercise the disciplinary powers would be properly trained and could use them on the school premises and on school trips. Their powers would extend to journeys to and from school to prevent bullying outside the school gates.

Until now the ability to discipline pupils has been based in common law but, by enshrining it in statutory law, headteachers hope there will be less occasion for parents and children to challenge them on the grounds of their legal rights.

“Our White Paper will strengthen teachers’ authority and give them the confidence to take measures on all forms of bad behaviour,” Jacqui Smith, the Schools Minister, said yesterday.

She added that it would “strengthen the message for parents and pupils that the culture of disruption and failure to take responsibility will not be tolerated”.

John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said that he fully backed the plans and hoped that they would “end the inappropriate challenges by parents on behalf of their badly behaved children”.

Schools will also be encouraged to work together to provide on or off-site “sin bins”, in addition to the existing pupil reform units for unruly children who cannot be educated in school.

The Government said yesterday that 289 secondary schools across 21 local education authorities had agreed to work together to deal with disruptive children.

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