Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce a legal requirement for schools to inform the parents or guardians of children before a police officer initiates a strip search or intimate search of a child.

The department is clear that any use of strip searching must be carried out in accordance with the law and with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual being searched, particularly if the individual being searched is a child.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code C, Annex A, paragraph 11 (c) is clear in stating that an ‘appropriate adult’ must be present in circumstances where a child is to be strip searched. Code C, paragraph 1.7 (a) (i) of the act is equally clear that in the case of a juvenile, an ‘appropriate adult’ means the parent or guardian of the child in the first instance. Other options are available if attendance by the parent or guardian is not possible.

The department is urgently reviewing the ‘searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance. This will include consideration of when it is appropriate to inform parents before a search takes place. The review is taking place alongside the ongoing consultation on the ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance. The department will decide its next steps based on the results of this review and the consultation.