HC Deb 13 January 2004 vol 416 cc639-40W
Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provisions are being implemented to promote the safety of teachers, with particular reference to violent pupils. [146666]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

We are investing nearly £470 million over this and the next two years in measures to improve behaviour and attendance in schools. These include training for school staff in managing pupil behaviour and preventing violence. We have also made it clear that head teachers may permanently exclude pupils responsible for violence. New legislation in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act will enable local education authorities to apply for court-imposed Parenting Orders for parents whose children have been excluded from school for serious misbehaviour. And we have issued "A legal toolkit for schools", which identifies legal remedies available when school staff experience problems with violent parents. Some of these are also available when dealing with violent pupils.