PARENTS should sign a guarantee that their children will observe a code of behaviour at school, according to new proposals from the Teachers' Union of Ireland. Students would also be required to sign up to the code of behaviour.
In response to growing school discipline problems, the union calls for wider powers for principals to suspend and expel disruptive pupils. The Department of Education should issue an "explicit directive" making the code of behaviour mandatory in every school.
The union document acknowledges that misbehaviour and violence in Irish schools are not nearly as bad as in England, where two schools were closed last week because of unruly behaviour by pupils. However. it says that more action is needed by the Department in order to avoid similar problems here.
"Things that happen in schools across the water tend to make their way here a few years later. The situation in England is very grave, and it will be here unless we plan for it now", says Ms Alice Prendergast, president of the TUI.
Ms Prendergast says there has been an "alarming" increase in serious incidents in schools over the past two years. The security of teachers' property, particularly their cars, had become a problem in many urban areas.
There had been a growth in problems involving first year pupils, which she described as "new phenomenon". Many of these have already been suspended, only weeks into their second level school career.
The document says that, although teachers believe there is growing indiscipline in the classroom, the absence of data makes it impossible to be certain the problem is getting worse. However. it points out that 50 per cent of the 12,500 working days lost through accidents or illnesses in schools last year resulted from stress related illness.
The behaviour problem extends beyond the classroom to include running in the corridors, loitering in prohibited areas and physical destructiveness. Cases of name calling, spitting, theft, false allegations against teachers, destruction of teachers' property and extortion from other students have also been reported.
Physical aggression and false allegations against teachers are "relatively rare" in Irish schools.
The code of behaviour would be drawn up in consultation with teachers and parents and would clearly state which sanctions were likely to be used.
The document opposes corporal punishment in any circumstances and says expulsion should be used as a measure of "last resort". Among 46 recommendations for dealing with discipline problems it also calls for smaller class sizes, training in self esteem for pupils and better security for schools.
