Teachers call out rape threats as poll says more than 1 in 10 physically assaulted by pupils

Teachers have called for action on homophobia and rape threats as a survey suggests more than one in 10 teachers have been physically assaulted by a pupil in the last year, as well as 'being upskirted' and having 'unknown substances sprayed in their face'.

Nearly half (48 per cent) of teachers surveyed said they do not feel that their school’s behaviour policy is effective and “fit for purpose”, according to a poll by the NASUWT teaching union. The survey, of 8,466 NASUWT members in the UK in March, suggests that 13 per cent of teachers have been physically assaulted by a pupil in the last year.

At the teaching union’s annual conference in Glasgow on Sunday, teachers told how they had also been subjected to racism, sexual assault and physical assaults including being kicked at, bitten, punched and slapped by pupils. Meanwhile, the survey said more than one in four (28 per cent) of teachers said they have been subjected to verbal abuse by a parent or carer during the last year.

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As delegates debated a motion on Sunday which suggested assaults are seen as a “normal part of teaching” in too many schools, Bristol-based teacher Wendy Exton urged the union to take a stand. The teacher of 28 years, the last 14 of which have been in alternative provision, said: “The continual abuse directed at myself, and I’m not alone here, takes its toll on your wellbeing.

“It’s simply another stress that we do not need. Not only are we subjected to derogatory language, but racism and homophobic language and more recently threats of rape, sexual assault, being stabbed or even threats to harm family members.”

Ms Exton also said threats of sexual