Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Violence in Classrooms

Monday 11 December 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Michael Shanks questioned the implications of recent trends in classroom violence for government policies.
  • The PISA study indicates that pupils in England are almost twice as likely to witness fights compared to OECD averages.
  • The response highlighted that serious incidents of violence are less common in England than in the OECD average, and schools should have measures like reasonable force and extended searching powers.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Michael Shanks Lab Rutherglen
Crime & Law Enforcement Education
Context

The latest PISA figures show high levels of classroom violence in the UK, with pupils witnessing fights more frequently than OECD averages. This disrupts learning and highlights the ineffectiveness of exclusion policies.

Question

What recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of violence in classrooms? The latest PISA figures show a stark picture of violence in schools across the UK, with pupils almost twice as likely to witness fights compared to OECD averages. Violence disrupts learning and exclusion is not effective.

Answer from Damian Hinds

The PISA study notes that most pupils in England feel safe at school, similar to OECD averages. While serious incidents are less common than average, measures must be available for schools including the use of reasonable force and extended searching powers.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions or new commitments requested were not detailed

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Q2 Michael Shanks Lab Rutherglen
Education
Context

The latest PISA figures show high levels of classroom violence in the UK, with pupils witnessing fights more frequently than OECD averages. This disrupts learning and highlights the ineffectiveness of exclusion policies.

Question

Pupils are almost twice as likely to witness a fight compared to the OECD average—39% in England and 36% in Scotland—and violence disrupts every part of pupils' learning. Exclusion is not working, and Scottish Government's proposal puts all responsibility on teachers. What more can the Government do?

Answer from Damian Hinds

The PISA study noted that most pupils in England feel safe at school, similar to OECD averages. Serious manifestations of behaviour issues are less common than average. Schools must have full measures available including reasonable force and extended searching powers.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions or new commitments requested were not detailed

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How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)