Schools with zero-tolerance discipline policies have been excluding teenage girls for bringing in knives with the intention of self-harming, an Ofsted director has said.
The inspectorate’s regional director for London, Mike Sheridan, questioned how this “overly rigid” approach would safeguard the pupils or help their mental health.
In a new blog, he has questioned the use of zero tolerance policies for pupils carrying knives.
He has also warned that gangs are encouraging children to carry knives into zero-tolerance schools in order to get them excluded so they can be “groomed”.
However, some heads and teachers have criticised Ofsted for suggesting that bringing a knife into school isn’t grounds for an exclusion.
Mr Sheridan said: “Some schools are using zero-tolerance approaches in an overly rigid way. We have seen examples of teenage girls being excluded for carrying a knife for the purposes of self-harm. While schools need to deal with this behaviour, it is difficult to see how this approach safeguards these girls or supports them through their mental health issues.”
Mark Lehain, the director of the Parents and Teachers for Excellence campaign group said of Ofsted: “If they are implying knives in schools are not grounds for exclusion, then they do not care about the safety of students and staff.”
Posting on Twitter, he added: “I do hope though that the evidence base…was more than anecdotes from some parents.”
Replying to Mr Lehain’s post on Twitter, Chris Jones, Ofsted’s deputy director of research and evaluation, said that it was “precisely that we do care about pupils’ safety that we are highlighting this.”
Since 2014 knife crime has increased by 22 per cent across England and Wales and by 36.7 per cent across London.
As Tes reported earlier this year, Ofsted has carried out research into how London schools are dealing with knife crime.
Mr Sheridan said: “We looked at how schools are protecting pupils from the threat of knives while they are in school, and how they are educating pupils about the dangers of carrying a weapon outside of school.
“We also considered whether exclusions play a role in knife crime and youth violence. Children who are excluded from school are twice as likely to carry a knife.
“Importantly, we know that schools are safe places, and it’s a very rare day that children are caught up in serious violence on school grounds. However, violent crime and the links to gangs are issues that many young people in London encounter on a daily basis. Which is why we need to look beyond the school gates.”
Research published last week found that children’s risk of being stabbed peaks while they were on their way home from school.
