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/

Gaslighting isn’t it?

As before, do please cite.

Read back up the thread.

I have commented on the campaign and what it seeks to do. Can you not see the difference?

You have commented on what I said, and made claims about what I sought to do. I posted your post doing this upthread twice now.

Nothing to see up thread other than a quote from the orginal post and a comment about the camapign. You problem with this is?

You are the one that says that you have been sworn at.
Please cite.

I think - and I hope it's come across in my posts - that I don't think it's ever acceptable to raise voices, threaten or be otherwise abusive to anyone in schools (or any other workplace!).

There are two issues, as far as I can see as both a parent and someone who isn't school staff but someone who works closely with schools and families every day. Well there are more than that - but if we're discussing parents getting irate/inappropriate/abusive/complaining.

You have the parents who get completely ridiculous and abuse school staff because their child can't have bright orange hair against school policy, or their kid has been a horrible little wotsit and has been rightly sanctioned, or the teacher has called home about homework and they don't like it. These parents are completely out of order and frankly I'd welcome steps to make sure their behaviour is stamped out in whichever way works most quickly and effectively.

Second set, still shouldn't be abusing anyone. However these are the parents who're at the end of their ropes banging their heads against brick walls, who have tried to address issues appropriately (whatever those are - SEN related or not. Could be bullying, could be anything!). They've spoken with teachers, they've spoken with HTs they've been calm, they've emailed, they've taken proper advice - sometimes lying for it - , they've had the meetings, and their issues have been going for months, if not years. They're either facing completely ineffective SLTs, or ones that actually just want them to go away now because they're too much bother and so they do their best to push them out. In lots of these cases, where things drag on and on or issues are repetitive the parents are right and the schools are wrong. Everyone assumes this doesn't happen. It categorically does.

Those parents and children - whilst still agreeing that they shouldn't be abusive to staff - are so heavily impacted by the schools actions or inactions across their entire lives that it's small wonder than in the end the get snappy and cross; or refer to Ofsted, or complain to Governors or the LA.

There needs to be action taken either way. No one should go to work and be abused, anywhere. But we cannot pretend that schools don't play a part in lots of cases in needling these families until they snap and get shirty.

I know of more than one parent - mother actually- who has been diagnosed with PSTD following their experience of advocating for their child in the education system. Actual PTSD. I don't doubt that there are teachers who've had the same, following their experience of working in a school. It's horrendous that it gets to that for anybody.

Here you go:

If not, go back and bloody read them.

I've not read the full thread but would like to raise the issue of teachers shouting in school at children. I would never seek to excuse adults abusing teachers but I do believe teachers should model better behaviour themselves. There is one teacher in my son's primary school who frequently shouts at children, including reception age. She shouts loudly and angrily. I've complained to the school with no effect.
I do think teachers need to get their own house in order before complaining so much about parents. There are very few other profession where shouting in the workplace like this is tolerated.

Maybe a screenshot will help seeing as apparently you are unable to read quoted posts.

You claim to have said literally nothing about me, and yet here you are saying that I have sought to do something.

You then later claimed that I am suggesting a campaign that "seeks to blame parents for speaking out when children are brutalised and to smear people who use legitimate avenues for complaint as abusive."

which is also untrue.

I do think teachers need to get their own house in order before complaining so much about parents

What would you like me to do about your child's teacher?

What's the big problem with quoting the original post?

<sigh> I really think you must be on the wind-up now, because you didn't simply quote the original post, did you?

@noblegiraffe maybe start a campaign for teachers to work together to build a better child focused culture? Make it clear to colleagues that screaming and shouting at five year olds is not OK?
I've seen you post a lot about education and you clearly do a lot of research. Maybe you're in a great position to raise awareness around this with your colleagues .

Is that it, a descriptive term that you want to spin?

You seem to be objecting to two things:

a) I quote the original post which clearly states parents who complain to Ofsted are part of the problem, and,

b) I am critical of the campaign you link to saying, The one you are suggesting seeks to blame parents for speaking out when children are brutalised and to smear people who use legitimate avenues for complaint as abusive.

Feel free to disagree with my views, but please don't try and silence me by suggesting that in some way making these points constitutes unreasonable behaviour.

Ironic really when the whole debate here is about silencing people by casting reasonable, if critical views, as abuse.

I work in a secondary school so I'm not sure how I can make it clear to colleagues that screaming and shouting at five year olds is not ok, given my colleagues don't do that. I'm pretty sure any primary teachers I know don't do that either.

As for a 'better child focused culture', it depends on whether you mean at the expense of teachers (see Paul Dix and his dreadful impact on schools and teachers).

Happy to say that schools that have rules about things like uniform that inhibit rather than promote learning are utterly stupid. Happy to say that unprofessional behaviour on the part of teachers should be dealt with by management.

Literally give up, Rappell. You've spent the thread casting aspersions about my aims and are now trying to claim that you haven't. Bored of you now.

wherethewildthingis

@noblegiraffe maybe start a campaign for teachers to work together to build a better child focused culture? Make it clear to colleagues that screaming and shouting at five year olds is not OK?

So your answer to stopping the abuse of teachers is for teachers to be even nicer?

Seems to be some victim blaming going on there.

It’s extremely child centred now. Too much. Punishments are inadequate, the parents back the kids whatever they do, everything is geared around making the children feel respected while they do nothing but disrespect others. It’s part of a wider entitlement culture which means parents feel abusing teachers is acceptable. Personally I think until the culture is addressed at the root, none of this will change and sadly the campaign will make little difference.

It is true that there are teachers out there who shouldn't be in the classroom. We know that teacher supply is on the floor. We know that schools are being forced to hire people they wouldn't normally touch with a barge pole because the alternative is no one. We know that some children are not getting the type of education that they need or deserve.

Abusing school staff doesn't change any of these issues. Abusing school staff just makes it more likely that staff will quit and contribute further to staffing issues.

When you go to A&E and the wait time is 12 hours, there are posters up saying that it is unacceptable to abuse staff.

No one says that parents shouldn't be frustrated with the failings in the system, god knows I post enough about them. That doesn't mean there's a reason to abuse staff.

When you go to A&E and the wait time is 12 hours, there are posters up saying that it is unacceptable to abuse staff

Has it led to less abuse against hospital staff?

It’s extremely child centred now. Too much. Punishments are inadequate, the parents back the kids whatever they do, everything is geared around making the children feel respected while they do nothing but disrespect others.

That’ll be why it took 2 years of raising issues with the school about bullying to have it stopped - only ending when an 11 year old child followed my DD around in the community harassing her and repeatedly telling her to kill herself. Ultimately police involvement got it stopped, the school were utterly ineffective. And yes I remained firm and courteous throughout - the school asserting that the girl in question was vulnerable too.

Or why my DS was screamed and shouted at by his class teacher in P2, culminating in him harming himself to avoid going to school. He did t tell me because he thought the teacher must have reason to be so harsh to him despite him being a well behaved compliant child. It took repeated meetings with the school, along with parents of other children telling me their children had witnessed it before anything was done.

Or my DD being assaulted in class, with the teacher present, who sent the child who assaulted her to take her to the nurture base when she was crying following said assault. I wasn’t told about it despite my daughter having an abdominal injury.

And in all honesty the school is one of the better ones in my area, the HT is generally good at her job but still primary education has been something for my kids to survive.

Child centred it is not.