Will Cornick, a Flawed Report and the Need for a Deterrent

Back on April 29, 2014, I wrote of my feelings about the murder of Anne Maguire, the Leeds teacher killed in her classroom by one of her pupils. At the time, the name of the culprit was not known. What was clear to me was the fact that classroom violence, which was (and is) all too common in our schools had reached a new level. At the time, I said that a Rubicon had been crossed. I still think that, but, fortunately, no more teachers have faced a similar fate - so far.
Anyway, today, as we know, the Leeds Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) have stated in their report that no-one other than Mrs Maguire's murderer, Will Cornick, is to blame for her death, and there were no early warning signs that could have stopped the attack. Nick Page, the report's author, said there had been no "credible warning signs" that could have been picked up by the school about Cornick's behaviour. According to Page, it was an "unprecedented emergency situation". He went on to say:
"Will's school friends and peers considered that he had a dark sense of humour and could talk very negatively and unkindly about people he did not like.
"None of the young people in the class or friendship group who heard Will talk about killing Ann, and were told about or shown the knives he had brought into school on 28 April 2014, had believed that he would actually carry out an assault."
I read that more than once with disbelief, as I have had experience of a pupil - primary age - bringing a knife to school. The matter was reported to me by other pupils. After summoning the pupil, I took the boy and the knife to the head teacher and the matter was dealt with accordingly. I am amazed that Cornick's classmates did not report these knives immediately. Had they done so, Ann Maguire might still be alive.
According to the BBC:
"Mark Peel, independent chairman of the safeguarding board, said: "It is also reassuring that this outcome of the learning lessons review is in agreement with the findings of the court, in that this tragic incident could not have been foreseen or prevented..."
I disagree; had those pupils been as responsible as my primary pupils of some years ago, those knives could have been confiscated.
I was also bemused at the way the LCSB quoted Cornick's explanation of his crime without any apparent critical analysis. Look at these seemingly consistent statements from the BBC article:
"Cornick, who was 15 at the time of the murder, told the report's author, Nick Page, he had gone to his Spanish class in "a red mist, not conscious of his surroundings".
We are then told:
"Earlier he had packed a rucksack containing two knives."
And then:
"He approached Mrs Maguire from behind and stabbed her in the upper back and neck seven times in front of "a large number of pupils".
The teenager then pursued her as she fled from the classroom and continued his attack, before being restrained by members of staff."
I find that the second and third statements contradict the first. If, as he says, he was unaware of his surroundings, how was he able to pack two knives? Surely that required forethought? Again, the fact that he was able to attack Mrs Maguire shows that he was clearly aware of his surroundings and of Mrs Maguire's movements.
Unsatisfactory as it is, the LCSB report stands, and, to be fair, I have not read the whole report. Perhaps the LCSB are right in their overall conclusion that nobody could have foreseen Cornick's actions. Perhaps he is the only person to blame. The one thing I find no fault with is Cornick's sentence. A more lenient term of incarceration would only have encouraged the small minority of evil pupils (yes, I know what the word evil means) to carry out further attacks on teaching staff. As I have said too often, I do hope that he is not sent to a mental hospital with the possibility of early release and a further possibility of killing again.
I do not know how Ann Maguire's family will react to this report. I can only send them my good wishes and those of Rhymes and Routes readers. Rest in Peace, Ann Maguire.