'Teachers should stand at bus stops to halt gang violence at London schools'

A report suggests teachers should usher their pupils home at the bus stop
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London teachers should stand at bus stops to ensure children from rival gangs do not attack each other at the end of the school day, a new report says.

Members of different gangs can be taught without problems while they are on school premises, but pupils are at risk when they travel to and from school, according to the charity Catch22.

It warned that pupils are hiding weapons near their schools before entering classrooms and then picking them up for their journeys home.

The Catch22 report, entitled “Safer Schools: Keeping gang culture outside the gates”, urges schools with potential gang problems to “introduce a visible end of school day presence”.

It added: “Where there are concerns around the potential for gang-related violence to occur in a school’s surrounding vicinity, the school should provide a staff presence at the school gates, as well as at the main bus stops used by pupils to return home.”

Researchers analysed how five “alternative provision” schools for pupils excluded from mainstream schools — two of them in London — handle gang problems.

One pupil told researchers: “In our school the kids would leave and there would be two members of staff at the gate, two members of staff on the main road and two members of staff near the bus stop, because let me tell you, we’ve got rival gang members in here.

So me and you can laugh and joke like, ‘yeah, we’re cool’, but I know, and you know, that after school it’s all different: I’m coming for you.”

The report also recommended teachers at schools with gang members should be trained about gang culture, and pupils at risk of joining gangs should be taught about “character and resilience”.

It also recommended police visit schools to challenge negative perceptions about them.

A survey of teachers by Catch22 found that one in four were concerned about rising gang activity, with one in three reporting a knife incident in school in the past year.

But it also found teachers are keeping gangs out of school. Sixty-five per cent of staff knew of pupils involved in gangs outside, but just 22 per cent saw gang activity inside. Chris Keates, general secretary of teaching union NASUWT, said controlling behaviour outside school would put staff at risk, and added: “That’s a matter for the police.”

Dr Mary Bousted, head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: “We would support staff providing a presence at the school gates to keep its pupils safe.

"But off the school premises, with the exclusion of school trips, staff have no special powers to intervene if there are incidents or fights...school staff should not be expected to put themselves at risk”.

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