All schools should share disruptive pupils

Education Secretary Charles Clarke also wants to encourage schools to arrange for surprise police searches of their premises.

And all schools - even the most popular - are being told to take their share of pupils excluded by other schools.

This would stop disruptive children being concentrated in so called "sink-schools".

'Sharing responsibility'

He said that the plans to make schools take on disruptive pupils would only result in about three or four excluded pupils a year going to each school.

This means all schools - even the most popular ones - would need to take in pupils expelled from other schools in their area.

"All schools - including popular schools - should work together to take responsibility for these issues," Mr Clarke told the Today programme on BBC Radio Four.

All schools - including popular schools - should work together to take responsibility for these issues Education Secretary, Charles Clarke Some schools already share expelled pupils

"If everyone says let's forget these pupils, let's just cast them out into the street - that would not be right."

However, the prospect of selective grammars having to accept some of the most disruptive children in the country receded during the day, when officials at the Department for Education and Skills said there was "no expectation that such schools would have to accept students who do not fulfil their usual academic selection arrangements".

Pupils at selective grammar schools have passed entrance tests such as the 11-plus.

Later on Thursday, Mr Clarke told a conference of new head teachers: "I expect head teachers to promote good behaviour in their schools, but where they judge it necessary, they have every right to exercise permanent exclusion.

"However when excluded children are deemed ready to be readmitted to a new school, it is important that heads do not have to take more than their fair share of challenging or excluded pupils, simply because they have places available."

The latest figures on permanent exclusions from all schools in England, which are for 2002-03, show there were 9,290.

That was 0.12% of the school population. Most (83%) were from secondary schools.

Weapons crackdown

Various schemes along the lines suggested by Mr Clarke already operate at present. In Surrey, for instance, the county's 53 secondary school head teachers have signed up to a "points" system under which each starts with 1,000.

They lose some if they have a high number of pupils with special needs or from poor homes, then are put in a league table with those with most points being first to take excluded pupils.

Plans at-a-glance Excluded children to be shared New search powers for heads Spot checks by police Possible raising of minimum age for knife-buying

Schools have points added for excluding children and taken away for accepting them.

Mr Clarke also says schools could be given more powers to stop pupils from bringing weapons into school.

The proposals are to allow head teachers to search pupils they believe may be carrying weapons.

Currently they can ask pupils to turn out their pockets, but can not search them.

Officials also want schools to have arrangements with their local police forces to undertake snap searches if they think knives are on school premises.

And the DfES is supporting Home office moves to raise the age at which knives can legally be bought from 16 - to perhaps 18.

In November 2003, 14-year-old Luke Walmsley was stabbed to death at the Birkbeck School in North Somercotes, Lincolnshire, by a fellow student.

His mother Jayne is campaigning for tougher sentences for those caught with knives.

'Dumped on schools'

The National Association of Head Teachers, backed the government's action, saying there should be "zero tolerance" of knives and other offensive weapons, with more back-up from the police for schools.

The group's general secretary David Hart, also said it was in favour of moves to share out expelled pupils.

"We endorse the need for limits to be placed on the number of excluded pupils who are dumped on schools because they have spare places," he said.