The issue of poor discipline in schools, where pupils question staff and are unruly, claiming that they 'know their rights' has spread to primary schools. That's the observation of the country's second biggest teachers' union. The National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, which is currently holding its annual conference, warned that rowdy pupil behaviour is no longer the preserve of the secondary school.

'Children as young as five and six are violent and disruptive,' said teacher Mike Wilson from Newark and Sherwood, adding that they 'continually question staff, quoting their perceived human rights.'

One delegate said that the problem often began in the move from primary to secondary education. 'Pupils start to become aggressive and disruptive in year seven, when they first move from primary schools where they have had one teacher for most of the day. They find they are chopping and changing and some cannot cope with the sheer numbers of children around them.'

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