Pupils of abusive parents face expulsion

Pupils whose parents threaten teaching staff could face expulsion under a new crackdown on behaviour, a Government minister said yesterday.

The new junior education minister, Stephen Twigg, said there was a case for expulsions "in extreme circumstances". He added that the Government should "look at" the move demanded by headteachers' leaders at their annual conference last month.

His comments – at the launch of a "zero-tolerance" campaign towards abusive parents – mark a shift in the Government's stance from earlier in the year when headteachers were told it had been ruled out. David Hart, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "I'm delighted that a government minister has at last accepted that there is a case for excluding pupils in exceptional circumstances.

"I hope that in the light of Stephen Twigg's statement, the Government will commit itself to a change in the law."

However, at a Downing Street summit with the Prime Minister on improving behaviour in schools some headteachers gave the proposal short shrift. Rosemary Roscoe, the head of Trinity school in Newbury, Berkshire, said: "We don't punish children for that. For goodness sake, schools have to change children, not punish them for the behaviour of their parents."

Mr Twigg, who launched the campaign at his former school in Southgate, said: "We want zero tolerance of violence and that includes the small minority of cases where parents are responsible."

As part of the campaign posters will be displayed in schools to warn parents that if they are abusive or violent they could face court action. The posters, which are similar to those already in place on buses and trains, say: "If you threaten or assault anyone in the school, or persist in abusive behaviour, you will be removed from the premises and may be prosecuted." Headteachers say that abuse of staff by parents has been a growing problem in recent years. Last year, the NAHT dealt with 140 cases of abuse by parents.

A report going to the association's national council meeting this weekend shows incidents of abuse are continuing at the rate of about one a day – with three cases of assault and two of verbal threats recorded during the past week.

But Doug McAvoy, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, was critical of the proposal. He said: "It is visiting the sins of the parents on the children. We have never been keen on that idea. You can get banning orders against parents prohibiting them from the school premises and we would rather see that."

A senior aide at the Department for Education and Skills said: "We've said before we will look at any policy that will improve standards of behaviour. There are no 'no go' areas in that."

The Prime Minister said surveys showed that behaviour "features pretty high up" on the list of reasons why teachers were quitting the profession. "The thing that helps me most at sessions like this is hearing about whether there are practical things you think the Government should be doing or should not be doing that will be of assistance on this."

* Figures to be published later today will show a 14 per cent rise since last year in the number of applicants for post-graduate teacher training places. The rise is largest among technology teachers – up by 41 per cent. English is up 21 per cent and maths is up 17 per cent. Overall, the figures have gone up from 32,637 to 37,000. Payments to teachers while they train are said to have caused the increase.