Payout after pupil beat teacher

A teacher with multiple sclerosis who was kicked and punched by a pupil has been awarded £27,500 in compensation.

The female technology teacher said that after giving the 12-year-old boy a detention, he grabbed her coat, hit her on the back and threw her over a desk.

The teacher, then 47, retired on medical grounds from Kingsdale School in Dulwich, south London.

The award from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) was made seven years after the attack.

'Look of hate'

Now 54 and using a mobility scooter, the teacher, who asked not to be named, told BBC News: "Because of what he did, it set me on a downward slope. I know I would have been all right except for that."

She said the assault happened when she took a new class.

"I did not know these kids and they did not know me. They were out of order. Two or three were really being bad so I gave them a detention.

"One pulled me from the back of my coat. I knew who it was. Then he hit me really hard in the back and threw me across the desk."

Compensation is however cold comfort for the loss of a job you love and permanent damage to your health Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary

The attack left her traumatised and worsened her condition, she said.

"I am used to being hit but the look of hate in his face - it still wakes me up at night."

The boy was suspended from school for two days and given a caution by the police.

Chris Keates, general secretary of teachers' union, NASUWT, said: "I am pleased the union has been able to secure some redress.

"Compensation is however cold comfort for the loss of a job you love and permanent damage to your health.

"Not only do the victims suffer personally from such incidents, the profession is the poorer for the loss of experienced and dedicated staff."

Head teacher of Kingsdale, Steve Morrison, who joined the school after the assault, said: "An assault is an assault whether inside or outside the school. We would always attempt to support the member of staff and conduct a robust investigation."

The award by the CICA was split into £20,000 for the MS condition and £7,500 for psychological injuries.