This is not what people who trained to become teacher should be doing.

It makes more sense to have units of trained people, going school to school on surprise search visits.

Dan, London, England

Thank you Richard from Cambridge. Most people always think those silly children. Try to see the way the teachers deal with Issues at school and then you will solve a lot of problems.

Audy, Goldaming,

Some teachers have enough problems with getting pupils to do what they ask. So what will happen when they ask to search them, I dread to think !!!!!!

Johnm, london,

The problem with drugs is that they are illegal, not just against school rules. So it is not possible simply to hand out detentions when drugs are found.
If a school has a drugs problem large numbers of pupils are likely to be involved. Too many to expel. Hence it is easier to turn a blind eye.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK

Sir Alan comes across as King Canute, trying to roll back the sea of parental indifference to their children. Too many of our amoral youth are of third generation illegimate births, a consequence of a nonjudgmental social construct foisted on an unsuspecting nation by Labour and its comrades.

Dennis Eagan, Colorado Springs,

I taught Handicraft 0Woodwork,Metalwork & Engineering Drawing from !957 to !982 and I always assumed we had the power to search pupiils under Loco Parentis. Was I wrong?

Mr V Cawthron, Sleaford, UK

I do not trust the teachers as the have in the past and still do abuse their powers. The children smoke while waiting for buses etc.they cannot stop what they see They just cannot be bothered . They are bullys I thing the government should look more into the attitudes of the teachers

Audy, Surrey,

It is not the job of teachers to search pupils for contaband. Teachers teach .
If schools need to search pupils they need to employ a group of safety officers whose job it is to carry out this work .
Teachers carrying out searches can only lead to conflict and confrontat ion.

claire , sandbach, uk

"Round Objects". If you want discipline and respect in schools, bring back the cane - Teachers currently fear the children who have too much power.
Lack of discipline at school and at home has created an uncontrollable situation which needs to be stepped on.
Spare the rod and spoil the child.

P Barrett, Valletta, Malta

What is really required is a rethink on the level of 'human rights' that are applicable to children.

Whilst the majority of school children are decent and sensible a large number are not.

The human rights legislation gives feral children immunity from the law.

They know no fear.

esward leigh, wigan, england

Not many teachers I know will risk exercising this power.
This shows how divorced our politicians are from everyday life. Just like the proposal to make knife carrying kids see the victims of knife attacks it shows that they simply do not live in the same world as the rest of us

David Nammory, Liverpool,

I am surprise that these are not in place in school. Now these powers are given to teacher, Isn't it a bit late that teacher will have to face threats by these mobs if they are going to carry out their duty?

thf, kl, Malaysia

I teach in a "middle class" school where there is considerable drug use (not unusual where they have he money) but we turn a blind eye because the parents are complicit and generally hostile to any teacher intervention. By convention teachers are not believed, and pupils are. Earlier comments make that clear.

Anna, London, UK

But how many teachers would want to try and search pupils in the first place? And how many pupils would let them? When a large chunk of new teachers quit each year over unruly pupils, would this measure be of any practical use?

Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, England

Um - is this a silly question ?
Shouldn't the PARENTS be regulating the little darlings' use of fags booze and chemical substances.
No of course not - it's the fault of society, the police, the teachers,

Ian, Berwick, UK

Teachers should be given the rights to clip kids around the ear at the appropriate moment. Corporal punishment is not just one step down from capital punishment.

Parents should be made to be responsible for their unruly offspring so that excusion can include sending them home were they belong.

Rodney Barker, Gainsborough, England UK

If I ever hear of a teacher frisking my child, the next call will be to the police to report a suspected sexual assault. If every parent does this, these authoritarian measures will effectively die. Leave policing to the police, don't give teachers excuses to humiliate our children.

Richard, Cambridge,

Teachers should be given the right to detain, search and inform the police of children with booze, weapons and drugs. In addition to this, the childrens parents should also be detained and charged along side their kids... Either that or create an army style boot camp for this bad lads (And Ladettes)

Vince, Medway, Kent

Political rhetoric - the climate of over blown self-entitilement today will make this impossible to enforce. What is the teacher going to do? Pin the student against a wall? What happens if the kid refuses - is there a struggle or does the teacher walk away? Can the gov get anything right now?

Richard, Chislehurst,, Kent.

And what will the police do when the child then counterclaims that they have been physically/sexually assaulted by the teacher conducting the search? “The child must always be believed…”

ajs, Nottingham, UK

Yes, this power is important. It is also almost totally irrelevant to worsening behaviour in the majority of 'good' schools. Classroom teachers need to be given back disciplinary powers and get full backing from the school in applying them. Disruption cannot be 'tolerated' for inclusion's sake!

mknott, Guildford, UK

And when they do find something on a child, will they be supported by the local council etc to act on it or is some lawyer going to fight them for the childs rights and thus cause the teacher to be suspended.
If these new laws are going to be brought in they have to be effective from start to end

Mike Jones, Farnborough, Hampshire

What backup do teachers have? Probably little / none. So, teachers without a deathwish will rigorously search those that are compliant and probably unarmed, and stay well away from those that might escalate the situation.

98% involved and education is still this bad? Oh dear...

Richard, London, England

with assaults on teachers and allegations of assault by teachers rising rapidly, this stupid elbow-jerk stunt is like petrol on the fire.

Marco, KrakOw, Poland

The problem is that a lot of teachers will be scared to actually utilise these powers.

Matthew Jones, Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom