Cash needed for unruly pupils

Few schools escape at least some unruly behaviour

One of Wales' main teaching unions has said ministers are failing to provide adequate funds for dealing with unruly pupils.

NUT Cymru has said £75m is being spent in England to tackle the problem, and that money should also be provided in Wales.

Schools across the UK share the same problem - what to do with pupils who have been expelled from school.

One solution some opt for is the use of a Pupil Referral Unit, where children who have been excluded from mainstream education can be taught in small groups by specially-trained staff.

Union leaders in Wales are annoyed that, while millions of pounds are being set aside in England to help fund these units, Wales is seeing no extra cash, and none of the five local authorities has set up a specialist unit.

NUT Cymru secretary Gethin Lewis said : "It does show that there is a perception of under-funding in Wales, and our members will now see this as extra evidence that their colleagues in England are getting extra money for the similar challenges they have.

"It is only fair that that teachers and schools of Wales, and the special education needs services in Wales shoult get a pro-rata amount of money."

"Looking forward" - education minister Jane Davidson

Welsh Education Minister Jane Davidson has said she is spending 10m in the current financial year tackling pupil problems.

But, she said it might not be appropriate for every single local authority to have a specialist unit. Some she said, would be too small, but it would be for the authorities themselves to decided what was needed.

Ms Davidson told BBC Wales on Friday that she had an "open door" policy with all the teaching unions in Wales, and she looked forward to hearing what they had to say about this subject in the new year.

In September it was revealed that specialist consultants were being called in to help schools in England tackle the problem of badly-behaved children.

The move was part of a range of measures designed to improve behaviour in primary and secondary schools.

A 60-second film, reinforcing the message that bullying was unacceptable, was also made and offered to more than 70 television stations.

The film urges bullied pupils to "tell someone" and not to suffer in silence.

The message would also be relayed in motorway service stations, BT internet kiosks, shopping centres and London buses.

Behavioural consultants were made available to local education authorities in England and the education watchdog, Ofsted, will have to report on schools' anti-bullying measures.