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Parents 'must take responsibility' for school attacks

By Pete Castle
August 25, 2011

MORE than 2,500 pupils were excluded from Hampshire schools for attacks on staff last year.

Across Surrey and Hampshire, more than 4,000 pupils were expelled or excluded from class last year.

New figures on classroom violence for the 2009/10 academic year show thousands of pupils were still being excluded, despite the number permanently expelled for such incidents having fallen by 40% since 2007.

In Surrey, a total of 1,782 incidents of physical or verbal violence by children were recorded against adults between September 2009 and July 2010, while in Hampshire there were 2,661 such incidents. Only in Kent, at 2,924, were there more incidents in the South East area.

The figures cover all secondary, primary and special schools but refer exclusively to attacks against staff, not between students.

Paul Maloney, from GMB, the union representing school support staff, said members were also being targeted just as often and the problem was not confined to teachers.

“Staff should not fear going into work, worrying whether they will get bitten or kicked or verbally abused by pupils,” he said.

“Society can’t expect teaching assistants and midday supervisors to cope indefinitely with this appalling level of violence and abuse. Parents must accept their responsibilities for tackling the bad behaviour of their children.

“Government and headteachers must do more to support frontline staff, especially educational assistants who are over-exposed and under-resourced.”

Unions, including GMB, are encouraging local authorities to engage school staff in better training in behaviour management and restraint, rather than taking on advice from the Department for Education on the ‘use of reasonable force’ in schools.

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I know it's a minority, but parents can be as much the problem - not only by failing to be good role models but in some cases mothers and fathers have been abusive to teachers after staff attempt to discipline their children. What would a pupil learn from watching their parents abuse a teacher I wonder. What do pupils learn when they see parents take the schools to court over the wearing of a piercing or school uniform?

So I do agree - parents need to work with teachers so that their children can reach their full poitential.