SECURITY in schools has leapt to the top of the education agenda after the death of Luke Walmsley - a 14-year-old who was fatally stabbed by a fellow pupil at his Lincolnshire school.

Dan Kendrick takes a look at how far is too far in keeping pupils safe.

FOLLOWING calls from teaching unions and experts on youth crime, a private meeting on safety in schools was held between MPs on Monday.

While the outcome has not yet been revealed, the Government has been urged to consider stepping up security to address "the growing weapons-carrying culture in schools".

School-related violence became a national issue in the mid-1990s following the murder of London headteacher Philip Lawrence and near-riots at the Ridings school in Halifax.

And schools have also been struggling to find a balance between security and openness since the 1996 Dunblane massacre, when Thomas Hamilton shot and killed 16 primary schoolchildren and their teacher.

In the wake of these, the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 was introduced to ban weapons on school premises, and a Government working party on school security was established.

But last week the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) warned that violent crimes were again threatening to spill over into schools.

PTAs went further, suggesting schools should follow the American example and install metal detectors to check for pupils attempting to smuggle knives or guns.

And the head of the youth justice board has even called for full-time uniformed police officers to be stationed in the worst offending schools - a plan being tested in 100 schools before recommendations are sent to ministers.

However, while safety is accepted as a serious issue in schools, other educational quarters warned against exaggerating the dangers pupils face from weapons.

Following last week's tragedy, Doug McAvoy, the general secretary of the NUT, highlighted how rare fatal incidents actually are in UK schools.

"This is an absolutely tragic incident, but there are 7.5 million children in our schools 190 days a year and the number of weapons being brought into our schools is absolutely minuscule," he said.

And schools throughout the county upheld Mr McAvoy's views.

"It is an extremely sensitive issue and the truth is that nothing is an over-reaction when you are talking about safety and security," said Allan Foulds, headteacher at Droitwich High School, in Briar Mill, Droitwich.

"Violence and weapons are not problems that we should have to live with but it's almost impossible to guarantee 100 per cent security against them in schools.

"Having said that, I don't think there's any danger of technical scrutiny or metal detectors being introduced simply because they would not be effective."

Mr Foulds added that educating pupils was the best way of protecting them in the future, while schools should constantly update and review their safety policy.

"We have to be thoughtful and make sure it is very clear to students that any form of violence in schools is unacceptable," he said.

"But security is a much wider issue and we have to be aware of access to the school, registering all visitors and educating our pupils how to challenge unwanted visitors."

Tony James, headteacher at Elgar Technology College, said that problems could be tackled by a positive culture within the school, and a supportive system was the way forward.

The Bilford Road school has had CCTV cameras monitoring their entrance gate for more than a year but Mr James said that metal detectors in UK schools were a step too far.

"I don't think there is any comparison between our schools and some of those found in America's inner cities," he said.

"Metal detectors are not an option in Worcestershire's school and we don't go in for searches of student property.

"What we have is a very supportive system where pupils can discuss any concerns they may have and a more general approach to security is taken."

And Mr James went as far as to say the "culture of weapons" had actually decreased in recent years.

"When I was younger there was a great deal of bravado associated with weapons, particularly with owning a knife, and that does not seem to be the case now," he said.

"On a recent school trip to France, where knives are fairly easy to obtain, pupils were told to keep away from them and they all did. It was certainly not like that some years back, and that is reassuring."

While the "it will never happen here" argument has been dispelled by the death of Luke Walmsley in a close-knit Lincolnshire village, it is clear that county schools are extremely safe.

Major security increases are not on the cards in Worcestershire, and parents can be reassured about their child's security when they leave for school each day.

And in a bid to keep them that way, Worcestershire's headteachers are taking the route of education, not enforcement.