Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has provided to schools on the obligation to report criminal behaviour by pupils (a) in general and (b) under the age of criminal responsibility whilst on school premises.

The Department issues advice on behaviour and discipline to all schools, including on the need for every school to have a behaviour policy and advice on teachers in schools’ powers to discipline for poor behaviour. The Department’s Behaviour and Discipline in Schools statutory guidance, which applies to governing bodies sets out that police should always be informed where behaviour is of a criminal nature or poses a serious threat to a member of the public. This guidance can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-and-discipline-in-schools-guidance-for-governing-bodies.

In addition, the Department publishes Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). KCSIE is statutory guidance to which schools must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Guidance set out in KCSIE includes duties for schools to ensure:

• All school staff should receive safeguarding and child protection training

• All school staff should know what action to take if they have concerns about a child

• Where there are concerns a child has been harmed (or is at risk of harm), the school should consider a referral to children’s social care (and the police) as appropriate

KCSIE is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.