MORE than 65 fixed-term exclusions were issued to Lincolnshire pupils for racism during the last school year.

Changes to the way racist incidents are recorded mean it is difficult to determine whether that is up or down on previous years, but the figures show 72 racist incidents in 2009, resulting in 29 exclusions, and 43 racist incidents in 2010, resulting in 16 exclusions.

But in many parts of the country, racist incidents have rocketed in recent years, according to a report by the BBC.

Sarah Soyei, of the anti-racism educational charity Show Racism the Red Card, believes a growth in racism towards Eastern European communities accounts for part of the growth.

She said: “Unfortunately the numbers of recorded racist incidents are just the tip of the iceberg

“Racism is a very real issue in many classrooms around the country, but cases of racist bullying are notoriously under-reported.”

The figures have been revealed after a Freedom of Infomation request to Lincolnshire County Council.

A county council spokesman said: “Schools have their own policies to deal with racist incidents.

“We take any issues that come to our attention very seriously.”

POLICE are to hold weekly surgeries in Sutton Bridge following criticism that a “police office” in the Curlew Centre has hardly been used.

Councillors who funded the police office from their designated budgets are delighted it will at last be used regularly.

The first surgery runs from 2pm-6pm on Wednesday, June 6 and police have announced weekly dates running through to August 22.

District and parish councillors Chris Brewis Michael Booth had each given £1,000 towards the rent.

Following the police announcement, Coun Brewis said: “We are delighted, actually. I am over the moon.

“Since the centre opened in October, I think they have been in once or twice.”

But Coun Brewis said he would also like police to visit at random times because he believes a patrol car parked in the village would deter petty crime.

Every member of The Suttons Neighbourhood Policing Team will attend the first session.

PCSO Ben Harrington will run a crime reduction event and residents can learn about Smartwater.

Sgt Amy Whiffen said: “The surgery will be a regular feature allowing members of the community to meet with the local team and discuss issues and concerns.”

TRADITIONAL loose fitting tunics known as chitons and laurel wreaths were the dress code for the day at Tydd St Mary Primary School on Monday when pupils had a taste of life in ancient Greece.

The youngsters have been studying the Olympics in preparation for the 2012 games in Britain and have learned a little of their origins in Greece.

Everything was Greek for Monday’s activity day from making pots to writing on wax tablets.

Headteacher Sonya Ripley said the day was funded by the PTA.

Most of the costumes were made in school but parents made some as well.

It’s been a difficult year for gardeners so far, judging by the e-mails I’ve had recently.

This is no doubt due mainly to a prolonged drought followed by that one night of phenomenal cold during the second half of winter, and no doubt the dull, chilly weather, northerly and easterly winds and record rainfall have had their own parts to bear.

Tony, from Surfleet, asked me if he should worry about his fig tree, which usually is starting to leaf by now, but is showing no signs of life.

You’d think that in a small garden like mine, I would notice whether mine was leafing, but, to be honest, I hadn’t even given it a glance.

When I did, I found that mine was in a similar state, apart from two leaves just starting to break near the wall. I inspected the rest of the tree, which, thankfully, looked very much alive apart from a reluctance to greet any summer we might still be about to see, so I guess Tony – and anyone else with a fig tree – has nothing to worry about, unless it’s a young plant or pot-grown, in which case I give my usual advice – wait and see.

I doubt if we will be able to pass judgement on many plants this year for at least another month; I have hostas – and quite established ones, too – that have yet to put in an appearance.

Jenny from Rushden (yes, we do have readers outside the district!) wonders why her rhubarb, planted last year, has produced nothing this season but two flower stalks, which she says she has wisely removed.

Flowering rhubarb is usually a sign either of stress or unusual weather conditions and this poor plant has seen both in the last twelve months. It’s my guess that last season it didn’t receive the copious watering, feeding and mulching necessary to get it off to the best possible start, so now it’s producing flowers in the hope of leaving progeny behind when it succumbs to an early death.

I would advise a thorough soaking (is there still a hosepipe ban in East Northamptonshire, I wonder?), followed by a thick mulch of farmyard manure, which she should be able to obtain bagged from her local garden centre. If any decent stalks do appear, they should be left on the plant to build up the crown for next season – frustrating, I know, but essential if she is going to get a decent plant in years to come. It’s always better to plant two crowns if space allows, then one can be allowed to rest every year while the other produces the lovely pies and crumbles Jenny was hoping for this spring.

Which reminds me – the in-laws are coming for the week and enjoy nothing better than a decent rhubarb crumble. Kitchen and oven, here I come.

A DEDICATED heart ward is to be set up at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital from next month on Ward 8b in a move to improve patient care.

The ward will allow for the most efficient use of consultant’s time as they will be able to see all the cardiology patients who do not require the Coronary Care Unit on the same ward. This means cardiology patients will not be spread across two or more wards.

And coupled with the recent recruitment of two consultant cardiologists who start work in June there will be now be four full-time consultant cardiologists to care for inpatients at Pilgrim.

Currently, cardiology patients share a ward with respiratory (7B), and haematology/oncology patients (7A).

The move fits in with wider changes taking place at the hospital to ensure patients are on dedicated speciality wards which enable them to be seen in the most efficient way possible.

POLICE are offering free crime deterrents after a spate of thefts from farms and allotments.

In recent weeks, there have been 20 incidents in the Spalding and Long Sutton areas.

These include allotment sheds in Low Fulney, where thieves stole fuel and tools.

Insp Stuart Hurst said: “I have an allotment so I know how frustrating it can be when sheds are broken into.

“These thieves are looking for fuel and tools to sell as metal.”

Free SmartWater kits and signs are available from police for farmers and allotment keepers.

Insp Hurst said: “We are keen to plug the kits as, so far, there has been little uptake.”

SmartWater has been used as a crime deterrent by police forces and industry since it was first invented in the 1990s. The liquid contains a code that can be read under a ultra-violet light and is intended to be applied to valuable items so that if stolen and later seized by police, their original owner can be identified.

Farmers and allotment keepers who would like a kit should call Spalding police on 101. Residents who have information about any of the thefts, or would like advice on security, should call the same number.

Top tips for protecting your property:

l If items are of high value do not keep them in the shed, keep them if possible in a secure garage

l Consider using security lights and/or a shed alarm

l Use a good quality padlocks

l Consider bolting larger items to the floor of the shed or chaining them together to make them awkward to move

l It is a good idea to security mark larger items, with a postcode for example. This makes it easier for officers to return goods to the rightful owner when they are recovered

l Locking shed bars are available from Lincolnshire for £35.

A “NEAR miss” incident in the skies over Moulton Chapel on Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a military test ahead of the Olympic Games.

Concern was raised when a low-flying Typhoon jet was seen to soar up into the sky to miss a light aircraft.

John Miller (72) had been gardening at his home in Benton Close. He said: “They could only have been feet apart. I don’t know how they missed each other – the noise was incredible.”

A spokesman for Fenland Flying School in Holbeach St Johns said the incident was a military exercise and none of the airfield’s planes were in danger.

A SPALDING man has hit out at the state of the River Welland after spotting several bags of rubbish floating in it last week.

Nuno Alves (34), who lives in the Little London area, said he has seen rubbish floating in the river on a few occasions over the last few weeks.

“It’s really bad, it gives a terrible image for the town,” he said.

“People are either throwing the rubbish in the river after they have been drinking too much or simply throwing it away with no regard for anything at all.”

Pictures show black bin liners stuffed with what looks like household rubbish at different locations along the river, including the bridge opposite the White Horse and the bridge at Little London.

A South Holland District Council spokesperson said that reports of fly-tipping in South Holland are dealt with swiftly and emphasised that offenders face a substantial fine if they are found guilty of flytipping.

Anyone with information about dumped refuse is urged to report it directly to the council.

Executive member for Green Spaces, Coun Roger Gambba-Jones, said: “If we receive credible evidence of someone flytipping we will take enforcement action and they would face a substantial fine should it go to court.”

A PLAYGROUP in West Pinchbeck is celebrating an “outstanding” Ofsted report.

The inspector who visited Ladybirds Pre-School Playgroup in March praised staff for providing exceptional levels of care for children.

Anna Davies said: “A small, highly skilled, motivated and extremely enthusiastic team provide a fully inclusive, welcoming service.

“Children are highly skilled communicators and display high levels of confidence. They enjoy lots of practical activities.

“Steps taken to safeguard children are exemplary and staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns.”

Manager of the playgroup Ruth Hoyles-Simpson is thrilled with the report. She said: “We are delighted our hard work has been recognised.

“We have worked so hard over the last two years to achieve high standard of care and education.

“It is excellent that the school has been recognised for what it offers the community.”

The playgroup operates from a classroom in St Bartholomew’s Primary School in West Pinchbeck.

A charity, it caters for children from two to school age and there are 19 on the books.

Anyone who would like more details about the playgroup should call Ruth on 07944289030.

PLEASE note, as from Tuesday, June 5 the cover price of the Lincolnshire Free Press will be going up to 55p.

The cover price of the Spalding Guardian will also go up to 55p, from Thursday, June 7.

COUN Peter Savory has been elected chairman of Holbeach Parish Council.

Coun Savory, who has been acting chairman since March, was officially appointed at a meeting of the council on May 14.

Coun Terry Harrington, who has been acting vice-chairman, was also officially appointed.

Coun Isobel Hutchinson, who has previously served on the council, was co-opted to represent the town ward, although there are still nine vacant seats on the council.

Anyone interested in joining the council should contact the clerk Teresa Daisley on 01406 426739.

For the last 54 years Spalding, the town I live and have grown up in has held a community event in the form of a flower parade, the latest being just two weeks ago.

The parade starts its journey at 2pm from the Springfields Events Centre and continues along a three-mile journey, ending at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, with a finale between 4pm and 6pm. Children and parents alike are encouraged to take part in the parade and everyone who attends the parade anxiously awaits the float with the newly crowned flower queen.

The first ever parade took place in 1959, skip a few years ahead and this parade became famous. The Spalding Flower Parade originates back to the 1920s and 1930s. The Jubilee in 1935 of King George V and Queen Mary coincided with the time the tulips were in flower. In 1948, the Growers’ Association became involved in organising a Tulip Week. A 25-mile tour through villages and country lanes was conceived to show the best fields.

By 1950, Tulip Week had become Tulip Time and was developed in conjunction with the Spalding Urban District Council over three designated weekends. To guarantee there would always be tulips on display, even if there were not any in the fields, from the many millions of tulip flower heads removed, it was decided that we should keep some available for decorative purposes, some means quite a few as a single float which can be as much as 50 feet in length may be decorated by as many as 100,000 tulip heads!

Alongside the Flower Parade there is lots to see and do in the Springfields Arena during the parade weekend including a float display and parade line-up, statics displays, classic car show, church flower displays, arts, craft and gift stalls and musical entertainment.

So, during the first weekend of May, Spalding town centre is filled with flower-themed goodies, tulip covered floats and the sound of children’s laughter.

Unfortunately the flower parade is not without its downsides, because the parade takes place during a weekend the town sees its usual barrage of drunken teenagers which can sometimes ruin the ambience.

When I was a little girl Spalding seemed relatively small, with the main part of the population being the over 60s, but in the last five years or so Spalding’s population has boomed. Spalding is now a large multi-cultural town; the streets are lined with an assortment of languages and eastern European-imported products.

As a part of my investigation into whether community spirit still exists, I took it upon myself to do a little research.

I whipped up a little questionnaire for some of the parents that had recently moved to Spalding from other countries. I asked them what they thought of Spalding’s community events.

I was very happy with my findings, most of the parents said that they had enjoyed the previous flower parades and that they would be attending this year’s parade as well as parades in the future.

They did, however, comment that they thought there should be more community events and that there was not enough for the children to do.

They felt that more events should be held in the summer when people are more inclined to go outside because of the warmer weather.

Often today’s news is filled with negative discussions on the ever-increasing population, as we see more people choosing to migrate towards the UK.

Being at the parade was a great chance to see people from many different cultures embracing this opportunity to spend time together, making new friends and creating new traditions, that will hopefully become a part of our future.

Television is one of the main culprits for separating communities by enticing viewers to bigger chain stores outside of their own towns, which takes them away from local shops.

Events like Spalding Flower Parade help bring more trade to smaller, more local traders, thus helping the town thrive. Traders embrace this opportunity by decorating their windows and selling flower-based, mainly tulip-themed, goods.

After researching into whether community spirit still exists, I have come to the conclusion that it indeed does still exist, but it needs work to keep it going.

People need to come together whenever and wherever they can and celebrate their community. After all, it’s where they belong.

I attended the parade this year, walking alongside my daughter, proudly cheering the floats along and helping to fuel the spirit of the town.

WHO would have thought that trendy young things would be making their way to Spalding’s bastion of hunting and shooting, Elderkin and Son?

They are, since learning of the interest in outdoor pursuits among celebrities, and they are brushing past the shop’s tweed breeches and other garments long associated with the shoot to find the rails of now fashionable Burberry jackets and Dubarry boots.

The fashion for outdoor clothing comes as no surprise to William Elderkin, who says – only half jokingly – that the business has always had its finger on the pulse.

What William means is that the business has had to adapt and change in order to have survived since 1750 when it was a milliner’s shop in Pinchbeck. He tells the true tale of two navvies hanged in Lincoln in 1810-11 for stealing £200 worth of cloth.

The business moved to Broad Street in 1880 and by that point it was more like a hardware store selling items also found in Woolworths stores, such as pots and pans as well as a few guns.

“Then Woolworths opened in the 1920s in Spalding and of course we couldn’t compete with them and we got more into guns from there,” says William, adding: “Mind you, we have seen Woolies off.”

As war approached and shops were closing William’s grandfather Alfred started looking after guns and other weaponry for the home forces, and by the time the war ended, when William’s father William Lacey joined the shop, it was dealing mainly in guns and fishing tackle.

The guns – and in particular the workshop – is the main business today, and William says the workshop, with five full-time gunsmiths, is “probably one of the biggest outside of London”.

Elderkin and Son sells guns around the world, particularly the collectable old guns, such as a 1920 model engraved by Harry Kell, one of the top English engravers of his time, selling for £30,000. William says while the engraving is beautiful – one example he showed us was decorated on the action area with griffins and dragons, thus making the gun more valuable – collectors would still use them.

Modern guns are naturally in demand too, particularly for commercial shoots, for farmers and youngsters just starting out clay shooting. However, another modern trend is also stimulating demand.

William says: “They do these computer games and want to do the real thing. It’s all strictly controlled with licences. There is bad press with guns if you look at the tragedies that have happened with them, but guns never killed anybody. It’s the person behind it.”

The five gunsmiths are kept busy restoring the old guns – during our visit a 1960 Purdey gun was being restored with over 200-year-old Turkish wood costing £2,000. However, William says: “There are not many guns that we sell that don’t need to be altered to the person. If you buy a gun, within reason, you can adapt to shoot with it, but in an ideal world it wants to fit you. If you are a quarter of an inch out where you are shooting at 30 yards you will be nearly six feet out if you draw a line.”

The workshop – William says he is looking to take on another lad in the summer – is busy with all kinds of aspects of work, from maintenance – stripping them down, cleaning and repolishing and making sure the gun is ‘tight’ – to re-stocking, starting with a great block of wood.

Many of the gunsmiths have worked there many years – David Newell for 43 years, Graham Collier for 42 years (“It was either be a gunsmith or trainee chef,” he says), Nick Quantrill (who also gets involved in sales) and Graham Emms have both worked there 36 years, while Jake Edgington admits gunsmithing was something he “fell into” seven years ago when he left the Gleed Boys’ School.

William too worked in the workshop when he joined the business at 16 – “My further education was in Broad Street,” he says. However, a car accident at 23 which left him in a wheelchair meant he could no longer access the workshop and so he moved into the shop.

“I can’t think of anything else I wanted to do,” says William (now 51). “I am lucky because it is my hobby and my business. I used to do a lot of competition shooting when I was younger and shot for England, but I just do game shooting now.”

After all these years, William still sees a future in the business – his wife Kirstie is involved in the clothing side.

What will be interesting to see is whether their daughters Georgia-May (12) and Martha-Grace (6) will develop an interest in guns... and whether country clothing is still fashionable then.

A KIRTON woman is appealing for help to find her husband who went missing five months ago.

Joanne Gladski has been left not knowing whether husband Jakub is dead or alive after he was last seen buying a bottle of Coca-Cola in Coningsby.

Just 24 hours after that sighting his car was found abandoned in Chapel Six Marshes, Chapel St Leonards, on the Lincolnshire coast, where the couple used to walk their dogs.

Joanne and Jakub had been married for nine years but were separated at the time the 31-year-old went missing on January 2.

The two had remained friends following their separation and Jakub was a regular visitor at the home the couple previously shared.

Joanne, of Green View, Kirton, said: “The thing is we don’t know whether he’s dead or alive and that’s the hardest part to deal with.

“Perhaps someone saw him the day before who can help us build a bigger picture.

“Did he go anywhere? Did he see anybody or speak to anyone?”

She said the couple had not been to Chapel Six Marshes, where Jakub’s car was found, together for a couple of years.

She added: “It was a place we used to go and it was a nice memory for him.”

Jakub came to England 11 years ago from Poland and he worked at the Port of Boston offices as a water clerk as well as for Lincolnshire Police and Boston, Skegness and Grantham courts as an interpreter.

He enjoyed caving, diving and mountain climbing and his caving gear was discovered in his car when it was found,

He also liked travelling and could speak several languages.

Anyone with information should call police on the non-emergency 101 number, or Mission People on 0500 700700.

DISABLED woman Sharon Essam is calling on the county council to repair a pothole after she was tipped out of her wheelchair while crossing the road.

Mrs Essam (40), of Main Road, Gedney Drove End, is paralysed from the waist down and was catapulted forwards out of her chair, grazing her hands and knees.

She’s asked the county council to repair the pothole urgently because it’s directly in line with the dropped kerb outside her home.

Until it’s fixed, she must wheel herself to a neighbour’s dropped kerb – and then go 50 metres along a busy road to her work at the primary school.

Mrs Essam lives in an adapted bungalow with husband and carer Jonathan (48) and can normally manage the short journey to work.

She said: “I rang the county council a week and a bit ago for them to send someone out but they say it isn’t urgent because the pothole isn’t deep enough. They will get round to it when they get round to it so they are quite happy to have me sprawled in the road.”

Mrs Essam has been in a wheelchair for seven years since she was injured in a road crash.

Area highways manager Jonathan Pearson said: “All potholes are rigorously assessed and our goal is to repair the most serious ones posing the most significant danger to road users within 24 hours.

“This lady has been in touch with us and she knows we’re repairing this slight damage to the road surface as soon as we can. This will be in the next few weeks and we’ve told her we’ll let her know when.”

A SCHOOL has been described as “one big happy family” in a glowing report.

Quadring Cowley and Brown’s Primary School has been rated “good” overall, with pupils’ behaviour and safety rated as “outstanding” following an Ofsted inspection last month.

The latest Ofsted report has delighted school staff, children and parents and is a huge step forward since the school was told it was “inadequate” just over a year ago and given notice to improve.

Headteacher Nicola Wilkinson said: “We are all thrilled.

“I am delighted that the inspector recognised the many outstanding features of the school.”

Lead inspector Jane Melbourne visited the school on April 24 and 25, and in her report praised teachers, saying they “aspire to provide a curriculum that will fire up and inspire children in every class without exception”.

She also praised the children’s “real thirst for learning” and rated their behaviour as outstanding.

She said: “Lessons are interesting and pupils are engaged in their learning, so misbehaviour is extremely rare.”

The school’s leadership and management was also highlighted as a major improvement since last year’s inspection.

Mrs Melbourne recognised that the governors are now part of the team, becoming increasingly effective and impacting on school improvement.

She said: “The school has accurately evaluated itself and correctly set priorities for work.”

There were only a couple of areas where improvements were still needed, including continued improvement in writing skills, including handwriting, and helping “quick to learn” pupils, especially those in Key Stage One, to achieve more.

The roles of curriculum leaders and governors also need to be developed more.

In a letter from Mrs Melbourne to the pupils, she said: “Everyone concerned has worked really hard to turn the school around and it no longer requires significant improvement.

“I was particularly impressed by the way in which you all kindly help each other.

“The whole school feels like one big happy family.”

RESIDENTS troubled by anti-social behaviour in some of South Holland’s most isolated rural areas could benefit from plans for a new “three strikes” rule being considered.

The Government is drawing up plans for a shake-up of anti-social behaviours which could see the old Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) replaced with a system designed to make sure police take low-level nuisance more seriously.

And the plan has been welcomed by South Holland district councillor Roger Gambba-Jones, who had written to South Holland and Deepings MP John Hayes calling for tougher measures to tackle problems.

He said: “Six months ago the Government put out a consultation about plans to replace ASBOs with this complaints system, which means that if five people make a complaint about anti-social behaviour the police are obliged to do something about it.

“After seeing that I wrote to John Hayes to say that in rural areas such as South Holland there are some locations where there aren’t five neighbours to make a complaint, but people who do live in these isolated spots can still suffer anti-social behaviour and be affected by these sort of problems.

“I asked him to talk to the Minister to see if there were any other ways to deal with the problem.

“I’m not saying it is a result of that letter but I am very pleased to see they have introduced what is effectively a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ system.”

The new proposal will mean that if one individual makes three complaints about anti-social behaviour, police are also obliged to take it seriously and do something about it.

Under the new scheme, outlined in a Government White Paper published last week, yobs could be made the subject of a new court order or a civil injunction aimed at targeting specific activities.

Separate Crime Prevention Injunctions would be aimed at stopping bad behaviour before it escalates and would need a lower level of proof than the criminal orders.

Coun Gambba-Jones added: “It’s definitely a step forward, particularly for people in rural areas, but we will have to wait to see how it works in reality.”

LINCOLNSHIRE Police are urging people to sign up to its new community messaging service, Lincs Alert, to receive updates on crime reduction and community safety issues.

The service allows users to receive alerts by email, text messages or telephone and users can also provide information to the police.

Users can also personalise alerts to their own preferences, for example horse owners might be interested in signing up to the horse-watch service, or those in rural areas might want to subscribe to the farm-watch service.

Insp Phil Baker, Head of Lincolnshire Police’s Community Safety Department, said: “The main aim of the service is to help get messages out to the community as quickly as possible.

“The alerts could range from urging people to lock their vehicles if one has been broken into nearby, to warning people about large-scale scams.

“It only takes three minutes to fully sign up to the service, so just three minutes of your time can help make your community a safer place.”

The service is completely free and users can unsubscribe at any time.

It is also confidential and personal information will not be shared with anyone without consent.

The service also allows users to receive updates about information they have reported to the police.

Users can register at www.lincolnshirealert.co.uk

People who sign up during the next two weeks will be put into a draw to win their very own Winston Growler, Lincolnshire Police’s traffic cop bear.

CHILDREN and staff at a Spalding primary school are celebrating the return of the headteacher in time for their Queen’s Diamond Jubilee activities.

Paul Reid will attend the St John the Baptist School jubilee assembly tomorrow, along with pupils and parents.

A statement from St John the Baptist School said: “Following the police statement that confirmed there was no substance to the allegation made and reported in the Free Press, the staff and governors of St John’s School are delighted that our headteacher, Paul Reid, will be joining us again this week in time for our jubilee celebrations on Friday.”

Peter Garland, chair of governors, said: “I want to thank all those at the school for their support and immense hard work at this time.”

Staff and pupils will be wearing red, white and blue at the assembly in St John the Baptist Church and the celebrations that follow. Parents have been invited to join them for a garden party, fun and games and displays from each year depicting a decade of the Queen’s reign.

Tomorrow’s events follow a successful May fair on Saturday, which raised £2,030 for school funds.

It was opened by Sky TV Gadget Geek Colin Furze, who amused the crowd with the world’s fastest mobility scooter, which travels at 70mph.

There was a barbecue, fair rides, games and competitions. Local band Zebra provided some live music and Spalding School of Dance gave a hip-hop display.

School administrator Leanne Bland said: “The weather was perfect and the atmosphere was terrific.

“It could have gone on a lot longer, but it wouldn’t have happened without the Friends of the School.

“We would like to say a big thank you to them for all their hard work and help on the day.”

Parents attending tomorrow’s assembly should arrive at St John the Baptist Church, next to the school, at 11am. The garden party will follow at the school, in Hawthorn Bank, at noon and will continue throughout the afternoon.

MORE than £600,000 could be set aside to support the growing number of Lincolnshire schools expected to be classed as “failing” in the next year.

Lincolnshire County Council has warned that many schools face a hard time as new Government legislation comes into effect in September.

It is feared it could result in more than 30 primary schools being placed in an Ofsted “category” requiring it to improve.

A report to the council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee on Friday says: “We are already beginning to see how the pressures of meeting higher standards, with the real consequence of being forced to become a sponsored academy if there is a failure to do so, are manifesting themselves.

“There has been a marked increase in the number of primary exclusions since September 2011 compared to previous years.

“There is also a growing number of headteachers who are suffering under the pressure and are either taking early retirement or are absent with stress-related illness.”

Pupils’ achievements in English and maths show it is the smaller rural schools, with less than 90 students on roll, who are struggling most.

The report says: “As we take on board the coalition government agenda it is clear our priorities may well be harder to achieve and the quality of school leadership will be vitally important if schools are to be successful in meeting the challenges that they are facing.”

Committee members will be asked to consider a number of strategies to help struggling schools, including an “expert inspector” hotdesk to answer questions and offer support and new checks on quality of teaching.

They will be told that a sum of £600,000 is the minimum required to set up a new intervention fund.