Former teacher tells of having to work ‘in fear’

One north-east woman has spoken out about the “scary” circumstances she was forced to endure on a daily basis as a school teacher.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she would regularly have chairs thrown at her across the classroom by disruptive children.

And on one occasion she was even kicked by a youngster, unhappy with the way they were being treated.

The teacher, who has since left the education sector, said she was “not surprised” that the number of attacks in schools is rising in most areas.

“A lot of this depends on the ethos of the school and the attitude of parents,” she said.

“Many have no respect for the staff or the head teacher any more and they say they ‘know their rights’.

“If they don’t like what you’re saying, or choose to believe their lying child, they will upscale their complaint to senior members of the education team.”

She added: “Once at my school we had parents fighting in the playground and the staff had to be protected from them.”

She said parents’ encouragement of their unruly children can prove highly demoralising for teachers – but many soldier on for the sake of the rest of their class.

“It can knock your confidence and parent power can actually break a teacher nowadays if they’re not liked,” she added.

“But most teachers are there for the kids and want the best for them, regardless of what they’re having to put up with.”