Children caught with drugs on school premises should be dealt with in-house, Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith insisted yesterday.

Mr. Smith said: "My position is that the fundamental principle should be that the decision rests with the principal as the school's decision maker.

"I think it's very important that autonomy rests with principals.'' Mr. Smith was speaking after a pupil at the private Saltus Grammar was caught with drugs and disciplined internally, rather than involving the Police.

The pupil was expelled last week after admitting bringing drugs into the school.

Saltus headmaster Nigel Kermode insisted there was no legal requirement to call in Police.

But one angry parent said Police should have been called in to deal with the matter -- and questioned whether private schools were softer on drugs than their Government-run counterparts.

But Mr. Smith said the age of alleged offenders had to be taken into account -- and the schools themselves were best suited to handle drugs problems.

At Warwick Academy, also a private school, Police were not called in until a day after a 14-year-old girl allegedly planted a bag of cannabis on a fellow pupil.

And Mr. Smith called for strict written guidelines on drugs in schools so pupils and parents were left in no doubt of the seriousness of drug use.

He said: "It's important that schools maintain guidelines in the event a student is caught using or distributing drugs on school premises so students and parents are very aware of the consequences.

"If they don't have a policy, then I can see schools getting into difficulty.'' Mr. Smith added: "Since the two incidents involved private schools, my other suggestion is that we should ensure their policies are in keeping with the public school system.

"It would be interesting to see what the policy is in Government schools and whether or not the Minister has offered any advice to ensure the policy in private schools is consistent with public ones.'' He said: "The policies should be strict and the consequences well-known It's also important that the policies are consistent so the message is consistent.'' And he added that Parent Teacher Associations should be involved in drawing up drug policies and that counselling should be mandatory for youngsters caught with drugs.

But Mr. Smith said: "The sensitivity must be towards the offender as a young person, adolescent or younger -- these things must be handled sensitively.

"I think a school has the right to manage its affairs for the greater good of the student body.

"They are closest to the problems and therefore better able to deal with the problem, rather than getting another agency involved.'' And he added: "Principals have to protect the interests of the schools, but more importantly, the interests of the whole school body -- and it may not be the smartest decision to involve another agency.'' Police response -- Page 3