Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that teachers feel safe from violence at their schools.

All schools should be safe environments in which staff and pupils feel happy and able to fulfil their potential. Any form of violence in schools is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Where a violent incident constitutes a criminal offence, the school should report it to the police.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all teachers are equipped with the skills to tackle both the serious behavioural issues that compromise the safety and wellbeing of pupils or school staff. To support schools in ensuring that they remain safe and disciplined environments we have produced a range of guidance materials.

Guidance is provided to schools to help them develop behaviour policies to manage disruptive and poor behaviour within the classroom and, in doing so, reduce the likelihood of violent attacks on teachers or pupils.

This guidance material includes guidance on controlling access to school premises. This helps schools understand that it is a criminal offence for a person who is on school premises without lawful authority to cause or permit a nuisance or disturbance and the action they can take in response.

Searching, screening, confiscation guidance for schools makes clear that staff can search pupils and their possessions, where they believe a pupil is carrying a dangerous item which could endanger pupils or staff.

In addition to current guidance, the Department has worked with the Home Office, and other key stakeholders, including the police, Ofsted and the Health and Safety Executive, to produce new school security guidance. New draft guidance includes references to help schools deal with violent crime and encourages them to develop policies and culture to help reduce and address violent related incidents in schools. A public consultation on the guidance closed last month and the guidance will be published later in the year.