South East teachers face rise in physical and verbal abuse from students and parents
The topic's being discussed as the National Education Union kicks off their annual conference today
Teachers in the South East are facing a rise in physical and verbal abuse, the region's National Education Union (NEU) secretary says.
It comes as the teacher's union prepares to discuss the topic as part of their annual conference, which begins in Harrogate today and runs until Thursday.
The abuse is coming from students and parents - with some teachers reporting having even been attacked with a knife.
Phil Clarke, the NEU's South East Secretary, said:
"It's detrimental in the immediate situation for the other children in the class because the learning is disrupted.
"But it's also detrimental long term because it is a factor in people not wanting to work in schools.
"Obviously there's physical harm that's done to workers in schools, but psychologically it can be very, very difficult.
"You're there to help and nurture these young people, and when they behave in really quite extreme ways, particularly around physical assaults, that's very difficult".
He continued that a focus on solving the issue "requires a look at the outside world":
"I think all too often politicians think that schools are somehow separate to what goes on in wider society.
"It's not coincidence that we've seen well over a decade of the dismantling of mental health support, the dismantling of Youth Services, the dismantling of safety nets for parents, and then we have a rise in in children and parents exhibiting these sorts of behaviours.
"Of course that's linked if you're going to strip away those things.
"It will be the people at the front line, the teachers and the TAs, dealing with these people day in, day out and having to communicate to parents. They're the ones at the sharp end, suffering this abuse.
"So we do need to look at it as a societal thing. If we're not going to provide those services, this is going to happen."