Bolton’s teachers need more powers to tackle school bullying

Half of all 14 year olds bullied, but only 20 suspensions across Bolton

Official Government figures have revealed that just ninety pupils across the country were expelled last year for school bullying, despite a new survey finding half of all 14-year-old children have been bullied.

Across Bolton, no pupils were expelled last year from state secondary schools and none from all state schools. In over two-thirds of local authorities across England, not a single child was expelled for bullying. In Bolton 10 pupils were suspended from state schools – meaning the disruptive students returned to the school where they caused misery for their classmates.

Since 1997, Labour Government rules have deliberately made it more difficult for schools to expel pupils, undermining the authority of head teachers and meaning bullies end up back at the same school as their victims.

Cllr Andy Morgan, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Bolton South East said “Bullying makes far too many children’s lives a misery. But the Government’s own figures show that in the vast majority of cases bullies are returned to the same school as their victims after a short punishment, rather than being expelled.

“The key to tackling bullying is giving Bolton’s teachers the powers they need to crack down on bad behaviour. But under Labour, the balance of power in the classroom has shifted too far in favour of disruptive pupils.

“Conservatives would give Bolton’s schools the power to take a zero tolerance approach towards serious offences such as bullying. We will give our teachers the tools they need to maintain discipline in the classroom before it spirals out of control.”