Violence: just part of the job?

By Alison Smith
BBC News education reporter at the NASUWT conference

Teachers say pupils are becoming more aggressive

Teachers are reporting a rise in violence from pupils.

But many say they cannot speak up for fear of being seen as weak or damaging the school's reputation.

The NASUWT union, holding its annual conference in Birmingham, says putting up with abuse should never been seen as "just part of the job".

How bad is the situation?

One secondary teacher from Shropshire, who did not want to be named, told the BBC News website said he had been slapped six times by a drunken pupil who had returned to the school after being excluded.

'Pure shock'

The 17-year-old walked onto the premises, entered a classroom and assaulted him during a lesson.

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"I stood there and thought 'if I lay a finger on him I will lose my job'," the teacher said.

He described a feeling of "pure shock" after the incident.

He looked at the clock, saw there were only three minutes left of the lesson and simply carried on teaching his open-mouthed pupils.

After leaving the room, he saw the boy had already been arrested after wreaking havoc in another class.

Charges were pressed and a community service order imposed.

When the initial shock had worn off, the teacher was left thinking what might have happened if the attacker had been armed with a knife.

'Not being dealt with'

The school - where the teacher still works - has tightened up its safety procedures since the attack.

"I received fantastic support from the head teacher," the teacher said. "The incident was dealt with and justice was done."

But staff needed clear powers to act against threats made by pupils, he said.

"These issues aren't being dealt with. Nobody really knows - what can you do?

I wouldn't touch a pupil because I don't know what the law is and I wouldn't want to have to explain why I did it A teacher

"I wouldn't touch a pupil because I don't know what the law is and I wouldn't want to have to explain why I did it."

So, for some teachers, it feels like an unfair fight against classroom violence

Many argue that disruptive pupils are not excluded easily enough.

Joshua Douglas, from Portsmouth, said an agenda of "inclusion" meant they were moved back into schools very quickly.

"But when does the inclusion of one lead to the exclusion of other pupils?

Counselling offered

"I came into this job because I like teaching children and I have a very big problem with spending time with one disruptive pupil and not looking after the children who do want to learn."

Teachers can have feelings of panic, or that they are a failure Victoria Irvine Teacher Support Network

Around 100,000 staff a year who feel they cannot cope or turn to their head teachers seek information from the Teacher Support Network.

They can receive counselling and coaching face-to-face or online.

Victoria Irvine, the organisation's director of communications, said: "Teachers can have feelings of panic, or that they are a failure.

"It's hard for them to admit they are not doing well. We want to keep them in the profession."

Training teachers to deal with disruptive pupils was all very well, Ms Irvine said, but until they were faced with the problem, they did not know how tough it would be.