Police should only get involved in schools as a last resort, the National Education Union’s annual conference has heard.
The move comes after a 15-year-old black schoolgirl named Child Q was strip-searched at a London school in 2020.
A security report found the search was unwarranted, with racism a “likely” factor.
Both the Met and the school have previously apologized.
The girl is suing the police and her school in Hackney, east London.
- Body search officers have taken over desk duties
- Asks the head of the strip search school to resign
- Government takes child Q case seriously – minister
During the Bournemouth conference, Kevin Courtney, the union’s joint general secretary, said what happened had raised “serious questions about protection” and the role of the police in schools.
One teacher, Louise Lewis, told the conference: “It is disgusting that this young girl is being forced to strip naked in front of strangers and take off her dirty sanitary napkin, in the most hostile and unfriendly environment she has been in.”
Another union member, Carly Slingsby, called for police to be removed from schools because “they made up their minds about our children before they set foot in the door”.
Union members called for the government to convene guidelines on police advice only as a last resort, as well as training anti-racism teachers and the union’s recognition of institutional racism in education.
Mr Courtney added “young people should be safe in schools” whether from their peers, staff or adults representing an outside agency.
“For Child Q in December 2020, that simple truth clearly didn’t apply,” he said.
The Education Secretary previously told the BBC that much stricter guidelines are to be introduced in response to the “extremely onerous” strip search.
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