HEAD teachers will be given powers to frisk pupils suspected of carrying knives on school premises, Charles Clarke said yesterday.

The Education Secretary described violence involving knives as “the most extreme form of unacceptable behaviour” in schools, and said there should be no tolerance of students who carried weapons.

Mr Clarke said head teachers should also invite the police to make unannounced school searches as a deterrent.

The plan was included in a package of government measures to combat indiscipline in schools. Mr Clarke said he wanted head teachers to “walk tall” in maintaining order in their schools, and to feel confident of support in confronting disruptive pupils or aggressive parents. “Head teachers need to know that in dealing with behaviour, the community, and I as Secretary of State, am on their side,” he said.

At present, pupils must give consent before a teacher can search them or their property. “I want to make it clear that there are simply no excuses for having a knife in school,” Mr Clarke said.

Head teachers would have discretion in exercising search powers, but he added: “I want them to have as many options and as much support as possible.” He urged schools to form close links with their local police inspector to share intelligence about knives and other weapons used by teenagers.

As well as physical searches, schools are likely to invest in hand-held “wand” detectors to screen pupils for weapons, rather than airport-style walk-through gates, which would leave an unfavourable impression on parents and visitors. They are also much cheaper, available from £20 compared with about £5,000 for a gate.

Mr Clarke published a national “statement of expectations” on behaviour, which he hoped would be adopted. This would commit head teachers to setting out clear expectations of pupils, with consistently applied rewards and sanctions.

Schools would be expected to exercise zero tolerance of bullying, of verbal and physical abuse of staff, and of weapons. The Education Secretary confirmed that all schools would be expected to admit a fair share of pupils expelled from other schools under rules to be agreed by next September.

Tim Collins, the Shadow Education Secretary, said that Mr Clarke must be “the only man in Britain who thinks that putting more unruly pupils into schools will improve discipline”. Teachers’ unions welcomed Mr Clarke’s proposals. John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said: “Some schools are reporting a growing tendency for pupils to carry knives and increased search powers are necessary and welcome.”

The father of murdered schoolboy Luke Walmsley said the proposals did not go far enough. Paul Walmsley, 39, called for greater punishments for youngsters caught carrying knives. His 14-year-old son was stabbed through the heart at Birkbeck School in North Somercotes, Lincolnshire, last year. Mr Walmsley said: “It is OK giving the head teachers the powers to do all this but why did all these powers get taken away in the first place?”

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