More pupils carrying knives in Walsall because of possible gang-related incidents

Walsall Council said there have been seven exclusions of pupils found carrying a knife or other weapons within secondary school grounds in the first two months of this academic year.

Education bosses fear gang-related tensions within some communities in the borough are are resulting in teenagers carrying weapons.

The issue of exclusions was raised at the authority’s education overview and scrutiny meeting on Tuesday, November 3.

In a report to the committee, figures showed the number of fixed term exclusions increased from 2,073 in 2017/2018 to 2,106 in 2018/2019 while the number of those permanently removed from schools went up to 71 in 2018/19 – 11 more than the previous year.

Rob Thomas, head of access, said: “The reasons for exclusions can be to do with assault on a pupil, assault on an adult, weapons being brought into school or drugs related offences.

“We have got a slight increase, we’ve noticed, to do with knife exclusions that’s happened this academic year.”

Correlation

Walsall Council’s assistant director for access and achievement Sharon Kelly said a number of projects were being run in schools to tackle the issue. She said: “We are seeing a correlation between some of the knife-related exclusions and also the gang set-ups within some of the communities.

“We have got three or four different projects with schools including knife training within schools.”

Trudy Pyatt, interim head of inclusion, added: “We are aware there are very clear community tensions amongst some gang-related incidents and we are looking how we can best support school leavers.

“We are very much looking at the wellbeing and the mental health aspect connected behind all of these incidents because for a youngster to bring a knife into school or any sort of weapon, there will be associated mental health problems, anxiety and trauma.

“We are working with educational psychologists and school nursing teams so we are supporting these youngsters as soon as we possibly can.

“In terms of the exclusions we’ve had so far this term they have been quite serious offences and we want to keep all pupils and all staff safe.

“However, we do need to work with these youngsters and we do need to understand their deep and psychological reasons behind their experiences and behind their thinking at this time so that we can support them safely and transition them into education where they belong again and are no risk to others.”

Focus

A spokeswoman for children’s services said: “The local authority has received notification of seven permanent exclusions this term that relate to knife and weapon related incidents within secondary school settings across Walsall.

“We take a very proactive approach to working with all our schools and settings to try to reduce any fixed period exclusion and any permanent exclusion.

“Our key focus is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our pupils and staff in schools and as such weapon related incidents are a top priority for us.

“We take a multi-agency approach and work with the police and youth offending teams to support all our learners.

“We look for any particular patterns and hot spots in terms of any potential gang associated offences.

“Support is also in place for the social emotional health and wellbeing of any students found in possession of an offensive weapon and we work intensively with these students and their families in order that they receive a full time education.”