Industry News
Gang issue poses "significant concern"
Posted on 18th April 2008
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has urged that the problems of gang-related culture in UK schools need to be "tackled head on".
Following the release of its interim findings in the Gangs and Schools report, the NASUWT assessed that there was no wide-spread problem but where it did exist it was a "significant concern".
The union is advising schools to combat gangs by encouraging and building confidence in pupils.
General secretary of NASUWT Chris Keates said: "The critical issue is to bust the myth that being part of a gang is either safe or glamorous."
Peer mentoring schemes are being encouraged as are school prison trips, which it is hoped will act as a deterrent.
Ms Keates said that schools alone could not tackle the problems as social and economic disadvantage also played a role.
The full report is due out in September.
Speaking to the BBC, schools minister Jim Knight said that the Department for Children, Schools and Families was preparing new, practical guidelines to help schools reduce the risk of pupils being exposed to or drawn into gangs.