School boss spends £50k on knife detectors – warning classrooms can be ‘vulnerable’ after horror stabbings
The boss of an academy trust said four secondary schools spent nearly £50,000 on metal detectors following a series of knife attacks and the government should encourage other schools to do the same.
Jo Higgins, chief executive of Dudley Academies Trust, warned that schools would be “vulnerable” to violence if leaders did not take appropriate action.
It comes after a series of serious knife attacks in schools. On Monday, two boys, aged 12 and 13, were stabbed at a school in Brent, north-west London, and last week a teacher was attacked at a school in Pembrokeshire.
There are no figures from the government on attacks in schools; but Freedom of Information data BBC reported A study in October found 1,304 crimes involving knives or sharp objects were committed in schools and sixth form colleges in England and Wales in 2024.
This is equivalent to almost seven per school day.
The government, which came to power promising to halve knife crime within a decade, this week announced its latest plan to give every child caught with a knife a mandatory action plan. This follows the announcement of the opening of youth centers targeting knife crime.
But Ms Higgins, who previously taught near the Sheffield school where 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose was killed last year, said: Independent Ministers need to go further and encourage the roll-out of metal detector devices, also called knife belts, in secondary schools. Harvey’s mother made similar calls.
He said his trust had spent nearly £50,000 on 10 devices and adapted school properties to fit four secondary schools, two of which already had them. They work like airport scanners, and students go through them every day while being observed by teachers.
Ms Higgins said students had shared concerns about young people carrying knives in local communities and said the detectors were installed following an “overwhelmingly positive” response from parents. He said the equipment not only helps children feel safer while learning in the classroom, but also helps raise awareness of the risks posed by knife crime.
“It was the Harvey Willgoose thing,” he said. “It stopped us all in our tracks. Of all the schools I’ve known in Sheffield, I would think maybe it’s a different kind of school than this one, it’s dangerous to have those kinds of misconceptions,” Ms Higgins explained.
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“When I found out what had happened I went back to our trust offices the next day and said ‘we need to look at the screens’ and I think that same week the trust board reviewed our plans and we consulted staff and heard from students.”
Saying that there has been no knife-related incident in schools since the foundation was established in 2017, Higgins added: “We are just realizing the reality of the world, the dangers that exist, and we want our schools to remain truly safe places.”
The metal detector devices have been backed by West Midlands Police, who say they are helping to reduce knife crime in the Dudley area.
A “shocking” stabbing attack in Brent on Monday, for which a 13-year-old boy has been charged with two counts of attempted, has sparked urgency for Ms Higgins’ two remaining secondary schools to have detectors installed this February half term.
He said: “Unfortunately that’s the last thing you want to happen [recent attacks] but it seems like this is something that could happen again and we as school leaders can’t take the risk. In my view, we should do everything possible to protect, and we can all sleep a little easier at night knowing we’ve done that.
Latest government figures announcedIndependent An investigation by the Ministry of Justice showed that the number of children convicted of possessing knives in England and Wales in the year ending September 2025 was 1,120; this number was down slightly from 1,160 the previous year.
Meanwhile, the latest data from NHS Digital showed that the number of children hospitalized for assault with a sharp object in England has risen by almost a quarter from 461 in 2014/15 to 560 in 2024/25.
The boss of Interconnective Security Products, one of the UK’s largest metal detector suppliers, said demand from the education sector was now outpacing police and security firms, with a record 18 metal detectors sold to schools for January.
But chief executive Byron Logue said schools were still too slow to respond to knife crime. “Schools really don’t want to talk about knife crime; very few people accept there is a problem, but now we’re seeing more of them buying the belts.
“They want schools to feel safer. Belts act as a deterrent and provide reassurance in a way that allows people to feel safe and secure while they’re learning.”
Caroline Willgoose also said installing knife belts in schools could be a deterrent to crime. She said her son, who was stabbed to death at All Saints Catholic High School, was afraid to go to school because he knew some children were carrying knives.
The Association of Schools and College Leaders said it backed schools on measures to protect pupils and staff from the threat of knife crime.
General Secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said: “As we have seen from a number of recent events, no setting is immune from these risks and school leaders will welcome the opportunity to work with other partners such as government, police and local authorities to contribute to a strategic response to this issue.”
In a publication three years ago, the Department for Education said screening students could help provide assurance that “the school is taking measures to create a calm, safe and supportive environment.”
A spokesperson toldIndependent: “Violence affecting young people is completely unacceptable and schools should never be left to deal with it. Our focus is on prevention and early intervention, working with schools, police and youth services to identify and support young people at risk early.
“It is the responsibility of schools to decide whether blade belts are necessary or appropriate in their circumstances and we would encourage headteachers to consult the police on this matter.
“More broadly, the government is tackling knife crime by banning zombie-style knives and ninja swords, strengthening age verification on online knife sales and implementing programs to prevent young people being drawn into violent crime.”
