08 April 2023 , 23:01
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Headteachers have been urged to operate a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to violence in schools after research found more than one in ten teachers had been physically assaulted by a pupil in the last year.
Research by the NASUWT teachers union found one in five had been subjected to threats of physical assault, and almost 60% had suffered verbal abuse from pupils in the last year.
Wendy Exton, a member of the union's national executive is calling for a "zero tolerance" policy from headteachers after the sharp increase in violence and threats since the pandemic.
But she claimed some Heads are failing to act because they're afraid of the "repercussions" that would follow, of exclusion rates increasing.
"It often gets buried and swept under the carpet," she said. "And you've got teachers subjected to some the most horrendous behaviours."
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One teacher responding to the survey said it was “commonplace” for teachers and assistants to be “physically hurt” by the children in their care.
Another reported “being repeatedly kicked by an angry five year old child. It leaves you feeling diminished, drained and emotionally battered.”
NASUWT Conference has been taking place in Glasgow this week (PA)“I was once…threatened to be “cut”, another wrote. “I was genuinely fearful of the pupil and his family. The school asked me to host a detention for the pupil on my own.”
Others reported hitting, slapping, spitting, biting, pinching, having their hair pulled, being kicked in the legs, being told to “f**k off” and throwing chairs.
“I regularly had a child that would throw chairs at me,” another teacher said. “Threaten to kill my family. Say he was going to stab me.”
Another chilling response reads: “I was upskirted. I have had an unknown substance sprayed in my face I have been verbally abused and shoved several times.”
"What we're seeing more and more of is increased sexualised behaviour," Ms Exton said. "Threats of rape, threats of stabbing.
"I've had to remove knives from children in school.
"And I've been punched a few times by pupils, and when I've complained about that and expected that students be excluded, I was told no, you can't exclude a child with [special educational needs], and the fact that they're violent is because of that."
Ms Exton said she teaches teenagers, and was punched by a 15-year-old boy.
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She said: "I try and hold them to account, but what happens is one gets away with it, so others do the same thing. It's bravado, isn't it?"
Ms Exton's motion is due to be heard at the union's conference in Glasgow today (SUN).
She added: "I think that if you exclude children that are violent, you're going to have a month where it's going to be horrendous - but you'll come through the other side and things will improve."
Some 48% of teachers polled said they don’t think their school’s behaviour policy is effective - and 36% of those who have experienced abuse from a pupil did not feel their employer dealt with the issue satisfactorily.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “No teacher should have to go to work expecting to suffer from physical or verbal abuse by pupils.
“Employers have a statutory duty to carry out effective risk assessments – they cannot simply choose to ignore or underestimate the dangers of violent pupils.
“Where employers do fail to protect our members from aggression and violence, we will take them on and act to support and protect our members by any means necessary.”