Police in the UK have been called into schools almost 3,000 times in the last two years because of arson attacks, official figures have suggested.
Michael Gove, the Shadow Children’s Secretary, described the large number of attacks as “deeply worrying” and stressed that teachers need more powers to deal with violence and disruptive pupils.
Conservatives in the House of Lords are seeking to amend the current Apprenticeships, Children, Skills and Learning Bill to give head teachers the power to ban, search for, and confiscate any item they think likely to cause violence or disruption, including lighters and matches.
The amendment was opposed by the Government in the House of Commons on the grounds that it would breach pupils’ “human rights”.
Gove added that a Conservative Government would abolish the current guidance which tells teachers not to search children who refuse to be searched and allow headteachers to outlaw items that could cause violence or disruption
