A Chelmsford school has been paying police to patrol its corridors to crack down on rowdy pupils.

Two officers have been employed this term at St Peter's College in Fox Crescent as part of a move against a culture of misbehaviour which senior teachers believed was "spreading like a cancer".

Now the school says the police patrols, which cost £1,470 for the term, have been successful and officers will not be returning next year.

Problems began at the start of the school year in September. Many of the 25 teachers employed to replace 40 per cent of the staff who left in the summer were newly qualified or inexperienced.

Chair of governors, David Lankshear, said children had begun to "test" the teachers.

"Some of our students can be quite challenging. I think there were some teachers who thought Chelmsford was a nice leafy market town and not as challenging as other areas, such as east London," he said. "Now there is a growing confidence that the issues have been dealt with."

Concerns included students being increasingly violent to each other and staff, swearing, breaking windows, moving together in "mobs" at breaktimes, setting off fire alarms and fighting. Staff feared parents would "boycott" the school.

In November, head teacher Sally Lynch, reported "a feeling that students are in control of the school at time." She paid for police to patrol the school, chivvying students to class, checking behaviour in rooms and "freeing up staff to teach." A code of expected behaviour, sanctions and rewards are now on display in each classroom, and the head of a similar school in Eastbourne will act as an advisor.

In January a new "behaviour support unit" will be set up to work with challenging students.

Three students have been permanently excluded this term, one for punching a teacher, one for "verbal aggression" towards a teacher and one for violence to another student.

Dr Lankshear said: "All schools have to deal with challenging students. We try to deal with them within a caring ethos but there's a balance to be struck between the care of individual students and the bulk of students and staff who need a calm and safe place to work.

"We believe we have a good school here which will provide a high quality of education for students and we are in the process of becoming a very good school," he said.

One parent, who asked not to be named, said she had been shocked to hear about the police patrols but supported the school in its actions.

Jerry Glazier, Essex representative for the National Union of Teachers, welcomed the exclusion of pupils. "The issue of pupil behaviour is one of increasing concern to teachers who should refuse to teach violent or disruptive pupils," he said.

Published Monday December 20, 2004

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