IT’S an approach that you would associate more with the parade ground than the classroom.

The government’s “behaviour Czar” Sir Alan Steer said some pupils should get a “right royal rollicking” instead of a temporary exclusion.

The former headteacher argued excluding pupils again and again did not show you were tough on discipline and did not help the pupils.

The suggestion was not especially welcomed in Dorset.

Margaret Morrissey, the Dorset based education campaigner and founder of website Parents Outloud, said: “The advice is a little bit insulting – this is something teachers and heads all over the county are doing already.”

Geoff Cooke, Dorset’s NUT secretary, said schools instead needed proper resources to deal with pupils, not a “quick fix”.

He said they needed proper strategies using detentions, letters home, counselling and anger management.

And he said some younger Dorset teachers had quit, after pupils verbally retaliated against them and they found no support from the under-resourced system.

Cllr Tony Woodcock, head of education for Poole council, did not back the idea explicitly, but said: “Teachers’ sanctions have been removed and the government has deliberately made it harder to permanently exclude pupils.

“This has led to a huge increase in temporary exclusions.”

He said a special unit for disruptive pupils based at Rossmore Community College seemed to be working well.

Cllr Toni Coombs, Dorset County Council’s head of education, said it used a programme to encourage pupils to give the respect they expect to receive.

Di Mitchell, Bournemouth’s education service director, said its policy was to be “appropriate” with each case, and Sir Alan’s advice did not change that.