Discipline has become a dirty word in Britain's schools, the government has admitted.

Parents were promised on Tuesday that disruptive pupils will face a zero tolerance policy under a new get-tough policy.

Education minister Ivan Lewis admitted to MPs that the government believed authority had been allowed to slip away from teachers by successive administrations

"All too often we've appeared value neutral. Discipline has become a dirty word," he said.

"We've remained silent for too long as many teachers left the profession citing pupil behaviour as the primary cause. None of this is good for our young people or the fabric of our society. The time has come for action."

His comments came in a Commons debate on school attendance.

He said that a pilot project, where parents were fined £100 for allowing truancy or taking their children out of school, had achieved big successes and as a result would be extended nationwide.

Parents would be encouraged to work with local education services and that the fines, which could be issued by police or headteachers, would only be issued in the last resort.

"Going through a court process is not always the most appropriate way to deal with a situation," he said.

"Getting a child to school isn't too much to ask. If parents are not prepared to co-operate... then the government has some responsibility."

Lewis also pledged to tackle bullying, which is often a key cause of children failing to go to school.

"If one child is being bullied, that is one child too many for me in a civilised society," he said.

He also accepted that the quality of education for excluded pupils was "not as it should be".

"There are no quick fix solutions and easy answers," he said.

"There are no magic wands or quick fix solutions. We are seeking to achieve generational and cultural change - to restore values of good manners, civility, self respect and respect for others.

"The truth is that for too many of our young people education has not been a bridge to hope and opportunity but simply another step on an inevitable journey to self destruction and community exclusion. The state has all too often failed to act decisively or effectively."

Shadow education secretary Tim Collins accepted that schools were in many ways getting better but there was still a problem with violence against teachers.

Four out of five teachers had now reported threats of violence and assaults had quadrupled from 1998 to 2001.

"The sad fact is that whatever the origins... there are problems that are growing," he said, arguing many pupils were aware of the balance of the law.

Collins proposed that if the government wanted to bring forward legislation to protect teachers, the Conservatives would "speed its progress".

"We have to recognise that the starting point of high quality education is the ability of the teacher to believe they are in charge," he said.