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Education and Inspections Bill

I have no idea. Perhaps my hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) could answer that one for me. It is a good suggestion. The Royal College of Nursing may be considering it. Society is changing its attitudes. We know what society thinks of politicians, journalists and nurses and doctors, so it is no surprise that in the classroom, teachers are facing similar problems. It does not happen in the majority of schools. My two children attend a comprehensive school where, fortunately, discipline levels are good. There is an exchange of respect that has been well worked out between the staff and the students; all credit to the headmaster for that. However, that is not the case everywhere. It must be scary for some teachers to work in particular classrooms, knowing that they cannot take any action and that, even if they held on to a child to restrain it, they could find themselves in difficulties. The amendment does not propose total anonymity for teachers, regardless of whether they are in the right. Once due scrutiny of any accusations against a teacher has taken place and a process has been undertaken, if the teacher is found guilty, that should be in the public domain. However, the new clause would provide protection in the initial phase when the facts are not clear and nobody knows whether the teacher is guilty or whether the allegations constitute malicious behaviour on the part of one or a group of students. I know a story that is similar to the one told earlier. It involves a group of girls and a science teacher—the teacher who told me that the classroom is a war zone. The group of girls was out to get that teacher because she was of the old school and a disciplinarian. She taught science, which is difficult to teach and requires the full attention of the class. However, the fact that the girls were out to get her shows the mentality of some of the students teachers have to deal with. If we want to get the best people into the teaching profession and attract the brightest and best to teach our children, we must offer them protection when they are in the classroom. They must know that their lives will not be destroyed by a one-off accusation that a pupil can make at any time for no particular reason. They have to know that teaching is a career in which they can progress and that it will not be halted or destroyed through no fault of their own but by the actions of a malicious student. I fully support the new clause and hope that the Government will consider it favourably and offer teachers the protection that they need. Perhaps we can consider doing that for nurses, too, through a staff charter.