I am aware of the survey, conducted by the ASTI, referred to by the Deputy. It is important that, while acknowledging that student discipline is an issue in schools, we do not talk this up to being a crisis. It is undoubtedly the case that a small proportion of students cause serious problems in schools. The reasons for this are not simple and are societal as much as educational. That said, today's generation of young people is no more disruptive than its predecessors. The reality of the situation is that as we have progressively increased the retention rate in our formal education system, we are retaining students who in the past would have dropped out of school early. This poses challenges for schools and for society.
A school's code of discipline and the inclusive way in which it is framed is important, particularly in harnessing student and parental support. We also must look at whether the formal school model best meets the needs of all students and whether other models need to be developed. As against this, we must careful not to promote the exclusion of problem students as this will leave us with a greater problem down the road.