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/

@noblegiraffe yes it was more than one. That's just the worst example. I'm not sure why you're struggling with that so much!!??

@TankFlyBoss wow let it go.
You work with heads...
One was mean...
She told you to complain.
You said several were mean.
She point out the disparity.
You keep on at her.

What do you want her to say? Some heads or not great.... some are.... you are a professional so you know how to complain.

What does that have to do with @noblegiraffe? You are like a dog with a bone (said in a nice friendly polite way)

And yet the spurious reports are being used to force teachers out.
It is part of the problem.

Part of the problem with SLT in those schools. Not the fault of the parent uttering the word ‘Ofsted’.

'Uttering the word Ofsted' isn't what's being described, is it?

@Stomacharmeleon

I think noblegiraffe needs to let it go, actually

This.

There is zero need to ever be abusive to anyone that works in a school. Shouting, swearing, being aggressive - any of it. It's completely unacceptable.

I don't work in a school, I'm a parent. I do whoever work with families who have issues with schools though (without outing myself by being too detailed). Some schools and some staff in them are fabulous, overstretched, underfunded and I feel desperately sorry for them all as even though they are issues that need to be worked through, they're trying their best.

Others, and the way their treat families, are absolutely horrendous. The families I work with do everything by the book - I wouldn't work with a family who was aggressive or abusive to staff. Even when they are doing everything properly, sometimes the treatment they get from schools would be described at best as bullying, and at worst as unlawful - ie, legally discriminatory.

There is absolutely no point in complaining to a headteacher, if the headteacher and culture at the school for which they're responsible is the root of cause of the issue. To be honest there's often little point in complaining to governing bodies either such is the prevalence of them being in the Head's pocket. Still, procedure must be followed.

Either way, abusing anyone is not ok.

A good idea. It’s disgusting the level of abuse aimed at teachers. Sadly, a lot of talented teachers are leaving because of it.

I'll just drop this in hopefully again and ask what kind of reduction in abuse has the NHS seen as a result of their campaign?

You’re the one defining stating an intent to contact Ofsted with a complaint as abuse, so that is what you are saying.

Yep, I've seen this, I had a parent issued with a 'Parent Conduct Warning' letter for their behaviour in a meeting with the HT.

The conduct that was unacceptable? The disagreed with the HT. The HT, incidentally, was wrong. They disagreed politely, they were calm but they were firm. Professional, actually.

I was astonished when they were issued with a warning letter accusing them of inappropriate behaviour in the meeting. Because I was IN the meeting too, and there was nothing inappropriate about it.

The examples given of some actual abusive words/actions that school staff tolerate are appalling.

I am genuinely surprised by how low the ‘classroom teacher’ percentage us, and wonder whether that is because subject teachers in secondary don’t have the daily parent contact that primary teachers do.

I don’t know any primary teachers who HAVEN'T been verbally abused by parents recently. It’s become a normal part of the job - and I teach in ‘nice’ schools.

Its part of the whole issue/problem

We had this at the school I worked at (secondary). A zero tolerance to abuse sign. In my years as a receptionist I was shouted and sworn at, threatened, spat at, belittled, followed to my car after school, you name it. I worked my arse off to help people and they were vile. Mostly because precious little Johnny couldn't abide by the rules and they thought such expectations shouldn't apply to their precious little shit child. Behaviour is getting worse, parents are increasingly unsupportive of school. It's no wonder teachers are leaving the profession in droves. Since Covid it's been horrible. I left. My replacement lasted less than a week.

uninterestingusernamealert

To be honest there's often little point in complaining to governing bodies either such is the prevalence of them being in the Head's pocket. Still, procedure must be followed.

This is also often the case for teachers who loose their jobs not because of evidence but because an abusive HT backed by the governors feels a certain way.

This is not just an issue in academies. It's rife in maintained schools too.

Have you actually read the article in the OP?

In previous schools I've had a death threat, been cornered outside with no witnesses, had parents burst into my 3rd floor class after school, even though every staff member carried alarmed radios and shout and scream at me. Every single time it was because I was giving support to their v needy children so that meant I was 'saying they had special needs'. I know the Police get it and NHS too but I think people would be surprised at the level of casual violence and death threats in nursery & Primary schools.

I have been involved with a number of Ofsteds, the inspectors often recount the abusive comments that parents have made in the parent questionnaires or letters they have passed to the inspector towards various members of staff (obviously inspector doesn't go into detail). Not sure what parents think the inspector will do, especially when many of the comments are racist and homophobic.

Also you have more face-to-face contact. I've certainly experienced more written than verbal abuse in my career.

I can absolutely see how that happens and it's shit.

Again it's a mixed bag. I've seen some great governing bodies that really are, as they should be, fulfilling the 'critical friend' role. Others will back a dreadful HT or staff to the hilt.

One memorable one had a parent Governor, who was also a member of staff as their child was on roll at the same school.

This Governor was on the panel investigating a safeguarding complaint from a family... that had been made about them, as an individual.

You couldn't make it up.

But what about when the school's complaints procedure gets you precisely nowhere? Especially when it's an academy?
And then it takes so long the damage is well and truly done?

Part of the problem on here is that posters jump on with issues to schools with report to Ofsted or report to the governors, or email the head and cc all the governor in. That’s not abusive but it isn’t helpful. I frequently type out how to complain posts, because I just get fed up with it. The problem is then people listen to the poor advice and then aren’t listened to by the school or Ofsted and the situation deteriorates. The complaints procedure is there to be used when necessary.

Part of the issue is that you do report issues with nurseries and childcare straight to Ofsted, but in schools you use the complaints procedure and once exhausted it goes to the DfE.

However it feels like as a society we’re getting impatient, angry and less tolerant. We’ve noticed an uptake in spurious complaints and also abusive emails in our customer service team. The language on here sometimes is a good example, posters are raging, fuming. I can’t remember the last time I was raging. Annoyed and mildly irritated yes. This is coming out in schools, and if you think about the increase in complaints to Ofsted, you can start to see how many more schools are dealing with as to be fair most will have gone to the school first. In a profession struggling to recruit and retain staff, it just makes morale worse and the profession less attractive.

If you've correctly followed the school complaints procedure and got nowhere, then you can escalate.

But as a pp posted above, Ofsted won't intervene if you are just frustrated with using the school complaints procedure so it's pointless complaining to them about it.

The language on here sometimes is a good example, posters are raging, fuming.

That's true, there was a thread in trending this morning, someone not just raging, but RAGING about something to do with schools.

Society becoming more intolerant in general and not just when dealing with schools is a good point.

I think its more important to understand why schools are reporting more complaints and ofsted are getting more conplaints - even if ofsted is the wrong avenue.

Whats different.

Im suspicious that schools have papered over the cracks for so long but cant anymore and the 'front line' are getting it in the neck for government failings.