Only 60 per cent of teachers believe their schools would call the police if a pupil was found in possession of a knife, according to research into violence in schools.
The survey shows that teachers were “reluctant” to report weapon possessions in areas where “reduced police resources” meant low-level and violent crimes went unresolved.
It also reveals a desire among teachers for more of a police presence in schools where a quarter say violence against them has risen in the last year.
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The research, carried out by social enterprise organisation the Innovation Unit, was carried out in 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester - across an area that has experienced a 108 per cent increase in knife offences in schools since 2015, and where there are currently around three knife offences in schools each week.
Knives and violence in schools
It shows that actions taken by schools where pupils had knives were not “in concurrence” with what was needed, according to young people, who were also interviewed in the survey.
“Young people were clear that properly listening to a young person found with a weapon was crucial,” says the report into the survey findings.
“In contrast, of the teachers responding to the survey: 52 per cent would exclude the child on a fixed-term basis and 20 per cent on a permanent basis.”
While “vulnerability and fear for their own safety” were important drivers in the increase in young people carrying weapons, the survey also found that “toxic masculinity” appeared to increase the likelihood of young men being both perpetrators and victims of violent crime.
The report states: “We heard that many boys and young men in Greater Manchester are being told more than ever before that retaliation is a strength, and emotions other than aggression are feminine [with phrases like]:’Don’t cry,’ ‘don’t be a pussy,’ ‘act tough’ and become the ‘top dog’.”
Boys taking part in a scheme run by Salford Red Devils rugby league club, in which they access both sport and education, said many of the current measures taken by schools didn’t tackle the problem.
One said: “If teachers just exclude or put culprits of fights in detention, this doesn’t solve the problem as it can just push it online and after school.”
The report, which highlights an increase in violence against teachers, also reveals a snapshot of everyday life in schools when a child at a pupil-referral unit in Bury said that if teachers label young people as “naughty children” they would “act up” to their label.
He said: “We had a new headteacher who got all of the paperwork then basically got all the naughty kids from the whole school in a room in isolation. She treated us like dickheads, so we acted like dickheads and before you knew it, half of us had been kicked out of school.”
At a primary school in Stockport, pupils said drugs had been brought into schools. One pupil told the survey: “There is no security… anyone can bring anything in without the head noticing… Teachers don’t search your bags.”
On responding to finding pupils with weapons, 55 per cent of school staff said their school would make a safeguarding referral to the local authority, while 35 per cent said their school would retain the child and consider them for early intervention support, and 5 per cent said the child would be moved to another school (respondents were able to select more than one option).
The research involved a survey of 326 school staff, including teachers, heads, pastoral staff and teaching assistants.
