Teachers will get increased powers to search pupils for alcohol, drugs and stolen goods under plans unveiled by the Children's Secretary, Ed Balls.

Insisting that the existing system, which limits staff to knife and gun checks, were insufficient to curb antisocial and criminal behaviour, Mr Balls said he would ask Sir Alan Steer, the Government's adviser on behaviour and discipline on schools, to look at extending their surveillance regime.

Mr Balls added: "I'm not saying that teachers need to use these powers, should be using these powers, but I think the right thing for me is to make sure schools and heads and governing bodies have all the powers they need."

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Meanwhile, he condemned as "wrong-headed and misguided" teachers who called at the weekend for the Army to be banned from schools if they use "misleading propaganda".

He added: "It's good to have more people from business, from public sector professions but also from the armed forces in schools talking to people. The idea we should have less of that is misconceived and wrong-headed and we are taking forward a number of different initiatives to strengthen the role that the armed forces can play in our schools.

Mr Balls said he wanted to see state schools setting up branches of the Combined Cadet Force.

"At the moment school-based Combined Cadet Forces are pretty much universally in the independent sector. I have been discussing with the Ministry of Defence how we can get more CCF in state schools."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the extra search powers. He said heads feared they would be accused of assault if they searched pupils. "Parents have to be assured that their children are completely safe at school and heads need maximum powers to search," he added.