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 17 May 2008 00:46 BST

Conservatives outline plans to combat poor school discipline

Monday, 07 Apr 2008 14:10
The Conservatives have outlined plans to combat disruptive behaviour
The Conservatives have outlined plans to combat disruptive behaviour in school classrooms and proposed plans to protect teachers.

The party's leader David Cameron claimed that under the scheme schools would no longer face any financial penalty for removing persistently badly behaved children.

Rules "forcing good schools to take pupils from bad ones" would also be abolished by the Conservatives.

Mr Cameron claimed that presently schools were using temporary exclusions to avoid "fines" imposed by some local authorities on the schools that chose to expel pupils.

Conservative shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said that the confiscation of mobile phones by teachers would also be made easier.

"Teachers shouldn't have to be looking over their shoulders while they are teaching and schools need to ensure they are places where the majority of pupils are able to learn," Mr Gove said.

Schools minister Jim Knight however dismissed the Tory plans as "gimmicks" and claimed the funding proposals hid a "massive spending commitment".

"It is effectively an incentive on heads to exclude and a massive spending commitment by the Tories that they are not telling us how they will fund," Mr Knight told the Today programme.

"All that happens at the moment is there are no fines for heads who exclude; there is no disincentive," he added.

The Association of Schools and College Leaders (ASCL) also warned that the plans may have "unintended negative consequences".

ASCL general secretary John Dunford claimed the proposals would "undo the good work already happening" in schools involved in behaviour partnerships.

Dr Dunford claimed that Tory plans to end the independent appeals process after school expulsion would in turn lead to more parents taking schools to court.End of story

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