Teachers are worried about a deterioration in the behaviour of girls in schools, complaining of incidents such as bullying on social networking websites and gang violence.
Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) are to debate a rise in the proportion of girls being excluded from secondary school at their conference in Liverpool today.
The motion, from teachers at schools in Derby and Chesterfield, calls for better co-ordination of work to help girls who are sent home from school, and to support teachers and heads in dealing with them. One in four children permanently excluded from school is a girl, and, although latest government figures showed a small drop overall, the proportion of girls suspended or excluded rose slightly. A survey of 859 teachers and support staff by the ATL found that almost 44 per cent report that problems such as aggressive or threatening behaviour among female pupils are getting worse.