SALFORD'S newest school will welcome a regular police beat officer.

Police are expected to be based at ten schools in Greater Manchester as part of a government battle to cut truancy and bad behaviour.

Margaret Shelton will be in charge of Salford's newest school next year and she believes it would make a great beat for a police officer.

The £10m Albion High - the first secondary school to be built in the city for 25 years - is due to open in Charlestown in September 2003 and is a union of Lowry and Kersal high schools.

It will have room for 1,000 pupils and 100 teachers and Mrs Shelton believes the permanent presence of a police officer will only enhance its reputation.

But before the government announced the initiative Mrs Shelton was already working on the idea.

"I was talking to one of the local officers who has come to the school over the past few years. We got to know him very well because he went out of uniform but came to the school to talk about anti-bullying programmes. He was very good and also did work through drama and dance.

"I said to him that once we had the new building I could envisage the police using an office as a base. He mentioned it to his superior, who asked me to put it in writing which I did.

Positive role

"I think the police can play a positive role in helping to promote citizenship rather than just be viewed as those that punish and sanction people.

"They could have a counselling role and could liaise with parents, for example when a child has a poor attendance record

"Schools have children who can cause a nuisance in the neighbourhood and a police officer could liaise with neighbours to work through such problems.

"The police would also have a role to play in using their knowledge to make sure pupils are safe. There is also a reality that at times there are young people that need to be handled firmly and having a police officer on site could be useful and a deterrent to bad behaviour.

"If we just view police as Mr and Mrs Nasty who put you in the back of a van it would be a missed opportunity.

"I think having police officers based at a school is a natural progression as they already come into school to give talks and advice.''

Pupils from Kersal and Lowry high schools are moving out of their ageing buildings to amalgamate as Albion High on the new site next year.

Salford Local Education Authority has still to decide which of its four secondary schools will have a police officer based on site.

Announcing the Safer Schools Partnership scheme last month, Education Secretary Estelle Morris said: "Police have a valuable role to play in local neighbourhoods and in the drive to tackle bad behaviour and crime in schools."