Rise in pupils attacking their teachers

THE number of primary school children expelled for attacking teachers has increased by 75 per cent over the past four years, official figures show.

Last year, the equivalent of one child a day was permanently excluded for physically assaulting an adult, according to data released by the Department for Education (DFE).

Experts have blamed the breakdown in classroom discipline on a change in culture where the “rights” of students are seen as equal or more important than those of teachers.

A third (32 per cent) of primary school children who were permanently excluded last year had attacked a teacher, making it the second biggest category after “persistent disruptive behaviour”.

A further 8 per cent were excluded for verbal assaults against teachers.

In 2012/13, 210 children were expelled for attacking teachers, but figures released yesterday showed that by 2015/16 the number had risen to 370.

The total number of primary school children expelled has almost doubled over a period of four years, from 670 in 2012/13 to 1145 in 2015/16.

Chris Mcgovern, a former DFE adviser and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “The lack of discipline is due to poor control, which comes down to the way teachers are trained.

“Part of the problem is that the culture has changed so the rights of the pupils are often seen as equal if not more important than the rights of the teachers.

“Our view traditionally is that the teacher is in charge – but now student rights trump everything. A major reason why the country under achieves in education is poor discipline.”

The Government’s exclusions data shows that, overall, 35 children a day are being expelled from both primary and secondary schools in England.

In total, children at state schools in England were permanently expelled on 6,685 occasions in 2015/16, up from 5,795 the year before.

Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary for policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said that one explanation for the rise in expulsions was that so many experienced teachers had left the profession.

She said that inexperienced staff struggled to keep control of the classroom because “personal confidence takes time to develop”. Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said that the rise in student exclusions is a “concerning trend”, adding that the DFE must give “serious and honest consideration” to the figures.

He said that a focus on exams and narrow curriculum was leading children to become “disengaged”, leading to behavioural problems.

Exclusions should be “lawful, reasonable and fair”, the Department for Education (DFE) said, with pupils only expelled as a last resort.