A recent survey suggests more than one in 10 teachers have been physically assaulted by a pupil in the past year.
According to the NASUWT teaching union, 48 percent of teachers surveyed said they do not feel that their school’s behavior policy is effective and “fit for purpose”.
The survey of 8,500 NASUWT members in the UK took place in March and suggests 13 percent of teachers have been physically attacked by a pupil in the last year. 28 percent said they had been subjected to verbal abuse by a parent or carer at the same time.
Delegates at the union’s conference in Glasgow were due to debate a motion that suggests that, in many schools, assaults are seen as “a normal part of teaching.” The motion says the union is worried that employers are “failing” in their duties to protect teachers.
The union’s general secretary, Patrick Roach, said: “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.”
“No teacher should feel unsafe or face violence and we are taking action to improve pupils’ behavior to ensure every school has a safe and respectable environment,” said a Department for Education spokesman.