Treat knife incidents in schools with '˜utmost gravity', says Gosport MP

AN MP said children's safety is the '˜number one priority' and that incidents where children take knives into schools should be reported to police.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage said: ‘Children’s safety is undoubtedly the number one priority – parents must feel that their children are properly protected and pupils must feel safe to learn and be themselves. With this in mind it’s important that schools treat any possessions of knives with the utmost gravity and report them to the police.’

It comes as educators battle to find the solution to the knife crime threat in schools.

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Denise Courtney, the sister of murdered teacher Ann Maguire, told Johnston Press Investigations schools must reject the introduction of knife scanners and focus instead on teaching pupils ‘what is right and what is wrong’. She said her sister would have strongly opposed the use of technology.

There is no obligation to record results of searches and there is no centralised record of knife offences in the education system.

Solicitor general Robert Buckland QC told The News: ‘We need to have information and a clear picture as to where hotspots might be.’