Schools demand national campaign against parents who are abusive to school staff

[noblegiraffe]

A survey suggests that 30% of classroom teachers and 75% of headteachers have received verbal abuse from parents this year, a marked increase on before the pandemic.

The North East Schools network would like to see a national NHS-style campaign to highlight the issue and to say that abuse against school staff is never appropriate. Given that there are many public places that have signs up saying 'abuse against staff will not be tolerated' it always surprises me that this is not already a thing in schools.

Interestingly the article notes "While most interactions with parents were positive, there were small groups of parents “willing to be abusive towards school staff” – including complaints straight to external government agencies.
These bodies, such as Ofsted, the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency “should only get involved once the school has completed their complaints procedure”."

Perhaps all those on here who rush to write 'complain to Ofsted' about some school incident should take note that they are part of the problem.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-demand-national-campaign-against-abusive-parents/

Perhaps if those parents didn't feel that it was hopeless to try and go through the school's procedure, then they wouldn't need to go straight to an outside agency in the first place.

When one has a serious complaint about a supermarket manager, one does not complain to the supermarket manager, one bypasses that and complains to head office.

From the article "Ofsted received 14,900 complaints about schools last academic year, almost a quarter more than the previous year. But less than 1 per cent led to follow-up inspections."

Complaining to Ofsted will not bypass the school complaints procedure because Ofsted will just bat you back to the school and tell you to follow the complaints procedure.

I understand that moving to external agencies may be irritating and incorrect procedure but I don't think that it could be recognized as abusive. That's a bit wet.

It's terrible what some parents are like. Weve had letters home more than once about parents who are threatening or intimidating to staff.

Interestingly the article notes "While most interactions with parents were positive, there were small groups of parents “willing to be abusive towards school staff” – including complaints straight to external government agencies.
These bodies, such as Ofsted, the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency “should only get involved once the school has completed their complaints procedure”."

Perhaps all those on here who rush to write 'complain to Ofsted' about some school incident should take note that they are part of the problem.

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean? Do you mean Ofsted receives abusive complaints, as in the complaints contain abusive language about the teachers?
Or is it the fact the compliant is made that is abusive?

Do you think the parent calmly states they are contacting Ofsted? I doubt it. That conversation will be accompanied by abuse, swearing and on occasion violence. Nobody should have to put up with it

The article is very unclear as to what the external complaint element means. Is it the content of the complaints or the fact the complaint has been made that is abusive? They should probably clarify that.

All school staff should be able to work in a safe environment and that includes not being confronted by aggression from parents, other relatives or carers.

So, it's not the letter to ofsted which is abusive, it's the way people say they'll write to ofsted?

I don't know any teacher who hasn't faced some kind of abuse from a parent. People have no idea what it's like.

I've been threatened so many times for following our school's behaviour policy and it's normally by parents who will not accept that their child's behaviour is unacceptable. Last time, a child was given a fixed term exclusion for throwing a chair at me (it hit me and another child) because I had given them a detention for kicking another child. His parents were waiting for me as I left the school (I didn't realise this at the time) the following day and followed me home. My car was egged and floured and I had a threatening 'we know where you live' note put through my door. The police were involved with that one. That's pretty tame to be fair.

I suspect this thread will descent into chaos.

Why will this thread descend in to chaos? Because clarifying the nature in which employing, either correctly or incorrectly, outside agencies is aggressive or chaotic?

I'm all on board for employing measures so that teaching staff can get on with their job peacefully but I just don't understand what ofsted has to do with it?

At my last school there was a sign in the Office foyer stating very clearly that swearing, threats and physical abuse would not be tolerated and that the police would be called if anyone displayed threatening behaviour. There is no such sign at my current school. Completely different demographic, although we have had parents who come very close to the line of abuse and can not be seen alone by any staff.

Do you think the parent calmly states they are contacting Ofsted? I doubt it. That conversation will be accompanied by abuse, swearing and on occasion violence. Nobody should have to put up with it

But OP said that anyone who suggested on Mumsnet that a parent should contact Ofsted was part of the problem of abusive parents. Which really suggests she thinks contacting Ofsted is abusive in and of itself.

Of course there'll be malicious complaints, but plenty will be made through either ignorance that it's not the correct procedure, or through desperation. If someone is mistaken as to the complaints process and Ofsted's role, that doesn't make their complaint inherently abusive.

As to the general point of the thread about a campaign similar to ones in the NHS about abuse towards staff, I don't disagree. My mum is a teacher and has been threatened, and no one should have to deal with it.

I mean, to draw on the original analogy with the NHS, I'd be a little suspicious if the nature of abusive patient behaviour was defined as aggressive and violent behaviour and writing to PALS or the health board.

I don't think any teacher is concerned by 'I'm gunna tell ofsted on you'. The problem is that it is often much more personal than that. 'I know what your son looks like and what school he goes to...' one parental threat issued in my school this year.

As a school governor, I would absolutely back a campaign of this nature.

The staff at our school work bloody hard and mostly do a very good job. The vast majority of parents do appreciate this, but the level of abuse that they get from the tiny minority who are unhappy is truly shocking. I don't know why anyone thinks it is OK to speak to anyone like that.

If parents have a complaint about the school, then of course they are absolutely right to raise it in a polite and constructive manner, but there is no excuse for the level of rudeness and aggression that is sometimes directed towards teaching staff and headteachers. It doesn't matter how frustrated you might be, they don't deserve to be abused at work.

I occasionally had cause to raise a few issues when my dd was at school. I found that the schools were always open and receptive when issues were raised in a positive, constructive manner. Parents should give schools a chance to address any issues and they should follow the appropriate channels to escalate matters if things aren't resolved. There should never be any reason to insult or threaten school staff, and we need to send a clear message to parents that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

But OP said that anyone who suggested on Mumsnet that a parent should contact Ofsted was part of the problem of abusive parents. Which really suggests she thinks contacting Ofsted is abusive in and of itself.

It is part of the problem. "I'm going to report you to Ofsted" is not a neutral action if it is done in a manner which is designed to intimidate or as a threat. The figures show that the vast majority of these reports are not correctly directed.

I am reminded of the catgender affair from earlier this year. There were lots of demands for Ofsted to get involved, including from a govt minister. When Ofsted did complete an inspection of the school, people complained that it was an inspection of the school and not an investigation into the teacher. Ofsted had to explain that investigations of complaints against individual teachers is not in their remit.

I think these are two separate problems. Sometimes the school do not behave well and complaining to them directly is a ridiculous system, especially as you cannot complain anonymously.

Obviously nobody should be being abused at work, I don't think that is ever acceptable. But reporting to Ofsted is not abuse.

If I complain to the CQC about conduct in a care home, instead of to the care home directly, is that abusive?

^Sometimes the school do not behave well and complaining to them directly is a ridiculous system

There's been an increase in complaints to Ofsted, but not an increase in valid complaints to Ofsted. Why is that?

Why is there any need to complain anonymously if you have a reasonable, valid issue to raise?

Another governor here and I completely agree. Schools have very clear complaints procedures and they are there to be followed. There was the incident in the national press in the summer, where a parent contacted every agency including the Teacher Regulation Agency and hadn’t actually bothered speaking to the school.

Very few people actually bother to follow the complaints procedure. Schools don’t get it right all of the time and most complaints are resolved. Sometimes you can’t give the answers parents want, a head is not going to say well I’ve taken disciplinary proceedings against a teacher because that quite rightly is confidential. Schools on the whole take formal complaints seriously and they are very time consuming especially by the time you get to governor panels.

Every poster who states when there is thread about an issue with a school, contact the governors, contact Ofsted is part of the problem. You‘ve got one side of the story on here, and the reality is that they won’t get anywhere because they’ve failed to follow the clear laid out procedure. Then the parent doesn’t feel listened to situation spirals downwards.

I am a supply teacher and have been to many, many schools where certain parents have been banned from the school grounds for threatening and abusive behaviour towards staff and even other parents - there was an actual fight on a playground a few months ago. It's in all areas too, from the more posh to the rougher end of town. We have a government and a whole section of the media that doesn't value or respect school staff though and I think that this needs to change first before then tackling parents' and then children's attitudes.

When parents are aggressive to teachers i think it should be flagged as a safeguarding issue for the child as they are likely aggressive at home too. Sebastian Kalinowski and Logan Mwangi both had parents/step parents who'd been aggressive to teachers at the school.

I'm torn
On the one hand,

1. no-one should be threatened or intimidated for doing their job
2. adults should be expected to be able to communicate without shouting, swearing and threatening, and certainly without violence (tbh so should children!)

On the other,

1. I think the boundaries of what is unreasonable parental behaviour need to be set extremely carefully so as not to impinge on their ability to raise valid complaints - I don't think reporting to Ofsted should be 'criminalised' and I'd be very wary of this smoothly turning into a way to silence all the 'awkward' parents of SEN children in the current climate (for example if they need to constantly remind staff to actually follow the EHCP provisions, etc).

I think a lot of parents who go straight to Ofsted are desperate SN parents whose children are being failed by a lack of support in school. The complaints system is incredibly slow, my complaint via there took 1.5 years to get a resolution and an asd child needs help quickly and was constantly blocked by things like oh your complaint was on an e-mail not on correct form so go back to stage 1 despite the email clearly saying complaint. Why anonymous to stop retaliation either via the child or via reporting the parents though I think an anon system isn't viable. My daughter claimed she was victimised by teachers for my complaint to Ofsted to the point she said she wanted to kill herself there. She told me other children told her to kill herself and when I reported it I was told it was normal. Thankfully I got her out of that school. And she thrived. Unfortunately I couldn't get the SN one out.

No-one should have abuse but the lack of any compassion for desperate SN parents is shocking. I have a Twitter inquest report this morning on my feed of an asd girl who committed suicide in hospital after being told to kill herself in school. School deny all reports. Would imagine would do same with mine as all verbal. I have hidden this thread, as its too distressing for me, but I wish some teachers would have some awareness of the lack of SN support and ask for that and also stop fining parents whose kids have mental health issues, and making it unauthorised. Mine didn't but many mentally ill kids parents are forced to either send to school or risk being fined and social services. An adult can be mentally ill so why not a child?

I was abusive to ds teacher once. She 100% deserved everything she got. She is the only teacher I've ever heard of losing their job but she absolutely deserved everything she got. Vile woman.