Inappropriate behaviour can range from talking out of turn in class to bullying, swearing and violence at the most extreme

Cathy Jamieson, Education Minister

And £10m is to be used to establish specialist facilities to educate troublesome pupils outside the classroom.

In June this year, the then education minister Jack McConnell said school "sin bins" and parent skills classes would form part of the Scottish Executive's strategy to eradicate poor discipline in schools.

Speaking at Tynecastle High School in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Ms Jamieson said: "Every young person and every teacher must be able to focus on raising attainment in our schools.

"Poor discipline can put these efforts at risk and threaten the achievements of the hard-working majority.

Future objectives

"Positive behaviour is important, not just for individual children but for the whole school ethos.

"That's why today's joint action plan is so vital."

The minister said a Discipline Task Group had highlighted the efforts already made to tighten discipline and had set out future objectives.

She said: "The problems are wide-ranging and the solutions must reflect this.

Brian Monteith: Attack on strategy

"Inappropriate behaviour can range from talking out of turn in class to bullying, swearing and violence at the most extreme.

"And where children are so disaffected that they don't even come to school, I want them to see there is a value and purpose to being in class."

However, Scottish Tory education spokesman, Brian Monteith MSP, said ministers were attempting to "throw money at the problem" when they should be tackling a culture of a "lack of respect for teachers".

He said: "Establishing greater respect for teachers and headteachers must be the foundation on which any discipline policy is built.

"These plans simply reinforce the executive's misguided approach based on its counterproductive targets to reduce expulsions from schools."