Teachers to be able to use reasonable force to remove disruptive pupils: DfE

July 11, 2011

Teachers have a legal power to use reasonable force and can use it either to remove a pupil who is disrupting a lesson or to prevent a child leaving a classroom, new government guidance on dealing with bad behaviour has said.

The Department for Education guidance also said that schools should not automatically suspend teachers accused of using force unreasonably “where other alternatives exist”.

Other key points from the 52-page document – which the DfE said “unequivocally restores adult authority to the classroom” – include:

Schools should not have a ‘no touch’ policy. “It is often necessary or desirable for a teacher to touch a child (e.g. dealing with accidents or teaching musical instruments)”
Heads can search without consent for an extended list of items including alcohol, illegal drugs and stolen property.
Heads have the power to discipline pupils who misbehave outside the school's premises and outside schools hours.
Schools must have measures in place to deal with bullying both in and outside of school.
Heads can temporarily or permanently exclude pupils who make false allegations. “In extreme circumstances, they can involve the police if there are grounds for believing a criminal offence has been committed”
All but the tiny number of the most complex cases involving allegations against teachers should be resolved within three months and the vast majority should be resolved in four weeks.
Malicious, unsubstantiated or unfounded allegations should not be included in employment references.

The guidance will apply from the start of the new academic year in September.

It replaces more than 600 pages of previous guidance, which the DfE claimed had left teachers confused about their powers under the law and made it much harder for schools to have clear and effective discipline policies.

The Department said the guidance should be looked alongside other measures contained in the Education Bill, which is currently going through the House of Lords.

The Bill will:

Extend teachers’ powers to search pupils for any items that have, or could be, used to cause harm or break the law, and for items banned by school rules.
Stop appeals panels sending excluded children back to the school from which they were excluded.
Give teachers anonymity when facing allegations.
Remove the requirement on schools to give parents 24 hours notice of detention.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “This new, clear and concise guidance removes the red tape that has stopped teachers from being confident in maintaining discipline in the classroom. It will also help schools promote good behaviour.

“We know that the majority of pupils are well-behaved and want others to behave well too. The role of the government is to give schools the freedom and support they need to provide a safe and structured environment in which teachers can teach and children can learn.”