Heads need more search powers
Head teachers do not have enough powers to search pupils they suspect of carrying items likely to cause violence or disruption, the Conservatives say.
They also released figures showing police were notified of 2,287 arson attacks at UK schools in 2007 and 2008.
The figures suggest arson attacks on school property are a greater problem in Scotland than in England.
Heads in England can search for weapons and UK ministers say they plan to widen the power to include drugs and alcohol.
The Tories used the Freedom of Information Act to ask every police force in the UK how many times in the last two years they had been notified, or called out to, an arson attack on school property.
Scottish law records instances of fire raising: setting fire to property not your own.
The eight Scottish police forces recorded 837 cases between January 2007 and December 2008.
There were 1,249 recorded by the 42 of the 49 police authorities in England which responded to enquiries.
London's Metropolitan Police recorded 101.
There were 75 in Northern Ireland and 126 in Wales.
The figures do not show whether the fires occurred when the schools were open or whether pupils were involved.
The Scottish Government declined to comment on the figures.
Consent
The Conservatives say heads should have wider powers - to search for any item likely to cause violence or disruption, including lighters and matches.
"The large number of arson attacks, on top of all the other problems in schools, is deeply worrying," said shadow children's secretary Michael Gove.
Currently, head teachers can only carry out a physical search of a pupil they suspect of carrying a weapon.
They can search for, and confiscate, any other item only with the pupil's consent.
So a head could ask any child to empty their pockets and bags to search for drugs, alcohol, or matches, but the child could refuse to do so.
Last year a major report on discipline in schools in England recommended that teachers should be given stronger powers to search pupils for drugs, alcohol and stolen property specifically.
Head teacher and government adviser Sir Alan Steer said he was responding to teachers' concerns.
The Westminster government says it is implementing these recommendations in the Apprenticeships, Children, Skills and Learning Bill currently going through Parliament.
But the Tories say this does not go far enough, and they would abolish guidance which forbids teachers from searching pupils without their consent.
'Burden'
The National Union of Teachers said it broadly agreed that heads should have more powers to search, but said they were not law enforcement officers.
Its general secretary, Christine Blower, said: "School staff need to be protected from the burden of having to prove why they lawfully confiscate items, and also from any unreasonable complaints directed at them after the event from parents and pupils.
"If this does not happen, school staff will be reluctant to challenge pupils for fear of reprisals."
England's Children's Minister, Delyth Morgan, said: "Through Safer Schools Partnerships, which we plan to expand to all schools, the police and schools work together in dealing with issues of security and anti-social behaviour.
"The school's allocated police officer can make a powerful impression on pupils and foster a healthy respect for the law."
Source: BBC News, 22nd May 2009.
21st May 2009
