The consultation period for the draft Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill ends on Friday, and all parents, teachers, employers and any other interested parties have until then to make their views known to the Department of Education.

Proposals within the draft include the abolition of the Board of Education, increases in fines on parents for non-attendance at school of their children, the discipline of children in schools and new legal powers for the teachers who deal with them.

Education Minister Anne Craine (pictured) says unruly pupils in particular cause problems for themselves and their classmates: