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Children taking booze into school concealed in drinks bottles

Children are taking alcohol into school by concealing it in drinks bottles, it has been revealed.

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Children are taking alcohol into school sparking concerns for their safety

Walsall Council has flagged the problem up as one of its ‘key’ health and safety issues.

The matter has been included in a report that went before the Schools Forum, which is made up of headteachers and school governors from across the borough, this week.

The paper did not identify the schools where booze had been smuggled in but said the issue had also been a problem on school trips.

Council education boss, Councillor Aftab Nawaz, said: “It is not acceptable for alcohol to be brought into schools.

“Schools together with parents have to work together to understand it is not acceptable and to deal with it strongly.

“A lot of it is about working with kids. It is about them building up trust within the schools. It is a difficult thing to detect.

“You can’t really go around to see if they have got alcohol or not. So it is more about educating them.”

He added: “We should have robust punishment and kids (found to be responsible) should be brought in and spoken to.

“Our tolerance with this has to be quite low, particularly for repeat offenders.”

A council spokesman said: “Walsall Council takes the health and safety of children at all schools and nurseries in the borough extremely seriously.

“The report presented to the Schools Forum was to scope the range of health and safety issues for children.

“Alcohol was, naturally, one of the items listed. However, alcohol was not one of the items discussed at the forum.

“Health and safety discussions focussed on educational visits and road and water safety for all children and young people in the borough.”