Schools sometimes fail to refer pupils they exclude for carrying knives to the police, headteachers have warned.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) raised its concerns in a response to Home Office plans to introduce a new legal duty on schools to help prevent serious violence.

The proposal would result in teachers being held accountable for failing to prevent young people from getting involved in violence.

In its submission to a government consultation on the plan, which closed yesterday, the ASCL says it does not believe the proposed new duty is “either workable or reasonable”.

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Instead, it says the rise in serious violence is due to “a government failure to properly resource and support public services, particularly the police”.

It adds: “It is our view that schools and colleges are already reporting issues and the problem is the lack of response from other agencies due to their capacity to deal with reports and their own shrinking budgets.”

The impact of knife crime

The ASCL response raises concerns that some schools and colleges do not always refer pupils who are excluded for carrying knives to the police or social services.

It adds: “We understand that some institutions avoid referring children to the police because they don’t want to give the child a criminal record.

“This is mistaken as these children desperately need the expertise of specialist police. Schools and colleges need clear guidance in this area.”

The union also calls for:

• Ring-fenced funding for a safer schools officer employed by the police in every secondary school and college;
• A duty on police to ask any child who is arrested what school or college they go to, and for the police to inform the school/college when and why a pupil was arrested;
• Training for school staff so they can tell pupils about the reality of knife injuries and teach them how to spot signs that an individual may be at risk of exploitation.
   

In its response to the consultation, the NAHT headteachers’ union also comes out against the Home Office proposal, saying “schools already have due regard to the prevention and tacking of serious violence under their current obligations, duties and responsibilities”.

It adds that schools already face difficulties getting pupils the support they need from social care and health services because of funding pressures on those services.

It warns: “There a risk that imposing a further legal duty on schools may lead to increased referrals and possible over-reporting, which could put even more pressure on an already stretched system.”

The ASCL also raised concerns that the Home Office’s plans could lead to schools over-reporting problems.