"The little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom," says John Proctor as fear and vengeance stalk the village of Salem in The Crucible. This is an idea that often haunts me in my life as a school teacher in rural Somerset. Not so much in reference to any particular class or child I teach, but in reference to the ways in which the educational establishment is beginning to kowtow to the needs of the young.

It goes without saying that the welfare of and concern for our pupils is paramount in any school, but it should not be contentious for me to suggest that in most cases the adults’ judgment should override the child’s perception of what is needed.