Tom Bennett, the UK government's behaviour tsar, argues that parents are becoming increasingly 'weak' in disciplining their children, which is contributing to a rise in complaints against schools. In the 2024-25 school year, parents lodged over five million formal complaints about school discipline, while suspensions for assaulting staff reached 16,000 in just one term, a stark increase from a decade ago. Bennett asserts that many parents fail to establish firm boundaries, resulting in children who are unaccustomed to discipline. He cites examples of schools that have successfully implemented strict policies, such as Caldicot School in Monmouthshire, which improved its GCSE scores significantly after adopting a zero-tolerance approach to discipline. Bennett emphasizes that parents need to be 'critical allies' to teachers, helping children learn respect and responsibility. His comments come amid reports of increasing violence in schools, with teachers facing verbal abuse and disrespect from parents, complicating the educational environment. Bennett believes that no school is too strict and that effective discipline is essential for student success.