By Gary Eason BBC News Online education staff

Fire safety advice is sent to primary schools

The good news is, efforts to tackle the problem seem to be having an effect and the number of fires started deliberately - outside school hours - has been falling steadily.

The latest statistics from the insurance industry's Arson Prevention Bureau, covering England and Wales, suggest that since 1994, the number of school arson fires has declined, from more than 1,100 to just under 800 - although it is thought many smaller fires go unreported.

Attacks during school hours had also fallen but appear to have gone up a little in recent years - it is too early to detect a trend.

On the list

In the north east of England, which has the worst record of school arson attacks, a fire brigade is now keeping a database of potential offenders - some as young as three.

The Tyne and Wear brigade's community fire safety department has more than 300 children under the age of 16 on the list.

The idea is that it will flag up those whose names appear more than once - which might mean they are heading down a slippery slope to becoming arsonists.

Maintaining a list of children as "potential fire-setters" is a sensitive subject, acknowledges the man in charge, Divisional Officer John Allison.

Access is limited to one person.

"I mean, I can't get into it and I'm the head of department," he said.

Youngsters can be referred by anyone with concerns - fire brigade staff who have been to an incident, parents, schools, police, community workers.

Fascination

"We are looking at kids that are intrigued by playing with matches," he said.

Aren't all children?

"Yes but unfortunately some of them set fire to the house. Or they get away with it once, so they will have another go.

"In the early stages we go out and interview them, talk about the dangers of playing with matches and the possible consequences."

Usually that will be the end of it.

"It's fire play. They aren't malicious fire-setters most of them, but some are deliberate and that's when we say that's beyond our remit - we're just firefighters."

Conflict

Such cases are referred for professional counselling to psychologists at St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth, Newcastle, home to the Northern Forensic Mental Health Service for Young People.

School fires hit at the heart of a community

It is a national service, part of which is a secure unit, catering for children aged 10 and over - though some are younger - who have committed serious sexual or violent offences and arson.

The centre's Dr Jack Kennedy said the motivations of arsonists were "many and varied", especially with adolescents.

"There's usually a relationship between a child and the school and it's often conflictual and there's a need to retaliate, get back at the school," he said.

"But it may be just because it's a familiar environment - they go there and mess about with fire."

Dr Kennedy said the Tyne and Wear brigade's arson task force was to be congratulated for its drive to clean up neighbourhoods, removing rubbish and derelict cars - "stuff that can be messed with".

Disadvantaged

"One of the things our service has been trying to do is to identify those children who are more at risk generally, of either becoming more delinquent or at risk of mental health difficulties and increasing their risk in that sense," he said.

"The criminal justice system will perceive arson as an offence and so will most of society, and rightly so.

"But the other side which we see are quite often the adverse social circumstances these children may emanate from.

"A lot of them are from quite disadvantaged backgrounds, it's often not just a fire event it's often a symptom of something."