§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with teachers who have been physically assaulted by pupils about school discipline policies. [134685]
§ Jacqui SmithWe discuss such issues regularly as we meet representatives of the teacher associations about discipline and other issues. As a result of representations from headteachers, we recently issued new guidance for exclusion appeal panels indicates that the headteacher's decision to exclude should not be overridden in a range of circumstances including where there is violence or the threat of violence.