Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

My Lords, the Government have already made a number of concessions. One of the main issues should be the safety of teachers, which is why I support the emphasis of the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, on training in these areas. We must not forget that, when you are using any form of physical restraint, some children will have come from homes where they would consider that that was an immediate assault on them and react to it as such, as has been found when restraint is used in juvenile offender institutions. The list of prohibited items is already extensive, including offensive weapons, knives, blades, drugs, alcohol and so on. The additional amendments appear to be a catch-all for anything that a school wishes to designate as harmful. That might then include things such as pornography, moral harm and so on. Who would make decisions on whether harm is moral, physical or both? They are difficult areas to decide on. However, all of us share the concern for the teachers themselves, many of whom are reluctant to use these powers because of the potential for litigation against them. Incidentally, I agree entirely about drugs, which must be handed to the police. However, it would not be a waste of public resources for the school to call in the police when there is a difficult issue. They clearly have the powers and training to carry out these sorts of searches. On that basis, I support the amendments that I have spoken to.