BOLTON headteachers are celebrating after being told they can have a new centre to take disruptive children out of the classroom.

The Government has given the green light to a specialist unit which will help younger secondary pupils in danger of being excluded get back on track.

It is part of a £550,000 package of measures drawn up by Bolton education chiefs which has now been approved by the Government.

Headteachers asked education chiefs to put a specialist centre on the shopping list because they wanted somewhere to send troublemakers on the point of being thrown out of school.

Once it is built, youngsters on the verge of exclusion will get one-to-one tuition to help them change their behaviour so they can fit back into the classroom.

Deane and Hayward will get similar units based on the school sites thanks to the new cash. And three successful existing in-school centres at Withins, Smithills and Sharples have received funding to carry on for another year.

Also new in the package is funding for a pioneering deal between Bolton College and local secondary schools aimed at pupils who skip school because they are bored with their lessons or not very academic.

Pupils in danger of failing all their GCSEs will be able to miss lessons to take recognised work-related courses at Bolton College.

All the measures are part of Bolton's strategy to work with truants and disruptive pupils to try and keep them in mainstream schools.

But it also good news for Youth Challenge, a youth service project to help pupils who have already been excluded which has been awarded funding for another year.

After hearing about the windfall education chief Cllr Don Eastwood said: "This really is good news and recognises the good development work that has been going on in Bolton."

Bolton has to compete against other authorities for much of the Standards Fund money and will have to foot part of the £550,000 bill out of the education budget.

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