Weapons

The school or college that your child or the young person you're looking after attends has been sent a policy to support the school and parents on how to deal with weapons in schools.

This policy is to help stop young people from carrying knives and other offensive weapons. If your child or the young person you look after is thought or suspected of carrying an offensive weapon, he/she may be searched. The school/college will publish their approach to this, which will hopefully minimise pupils' anxieties.

If a young person carries or threatens to use or does use an offensive weapon at school/college, he/she will be permanently excluded.

There are three categories of offensive weapons:

• 'Made' could include a dagger or a gun;
• 'Adapted' could include a broken bottle; and
• 'Intended' for such use could include a rock or stone

If there are any changes to the policy or further guidance is received from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (previously Department of Education and Skills), then this information will be updated.

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