Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many knife possession orders have been issued in relation to (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) higher educational establishments in the last five years.

The Department does not hold data on the number of children found in possession of a knife at school. However, the School Snapshot Survey from winter 2019 showed that 29% of schools were actively dealing with knife crime as a safeguarding issue: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-snapshot-survey-winter-2019. Secondary schools were 4 times more likely to be actively dealing with knife crime than primary schools.

Schools and colleges have a duty and responsibility to protect pupils and staff. We support them with a range of guidance to help them fulfil their responsibilities, including advice on health and safety and school and college security. The school and college security guidance includes a suite of resources to assist schools and colleges with the development of policies and culture to help address a wide range of security related issues.

Relationships, Sex and Health Education is now compulsory, and schools can build on the core content to address local issues such as gang activity and recognising and avoiding exploitative relationships. In serious violence hotspot areas, schools, alternative provision settings and colleges are working with police and health through Violence Reduction Units to run interventions to tackle serious youth violence.