To ask teachers if you are scared

[crochetmonkey74]

I'm a career teacher (25 years) and have always loved it.
In the last year, parental complaints over tiny things are very very common, and often aggressive. More and more students are making wildly false allegations. We have had 2 lockdown situations at my school (not drills) for armed intruders. The news today from Ammanford has really shaken me. I actually feel scared for the first time in my career. If you're a teacher, how are you holding up?

Gosh, some of these stories are so shocking. I’ve been teaching secondary nearly 20 years and haven’t experienced half of what some of you describe. I’m not surprised people are leaving in droves.

No, I’m not scared. I feel safe and supported at school. What has happened is devastating, and I can’t imagine how the school community must be feeling right now. I work in an inner city secondary school and like any other, it has its challenges but I think the world of the young people who I share my days with. Teenagers are, by and large, wonderful people and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. That said, I feel very lucky reading some of the responses here, and I’m not for a second doubting that my experience isn’t universal.

I wouldn't say scared but definitely on edge and wary. I worry about student and parent behaviour and I worry about my school's lack of procedures. Fire drills are shocking, I'm not aware there's any specific plan in place of other emergencies.

@Perfect28 schools should have lockdown procedures

@crumblingschools schools should also run safe fire drills. I wonder how common my experience is?

We only did our lockdown procedure this year and we have had two real events.
I think we have prioritised children's feelings above all else, which is in no way preparing them for life . (Even on this thread , people are not frightened for themselves, but for the students)
I get it, but we have over focused on dysregulation as someone else said

We've had pupils come to school with weapons and a "kill list". We are ofsted rated good and in an affluent area. I don't feel as safe as I once did. This is in primary BTW.

What particularly concerns me is the rise of violence, mental health problems among the young and extremism in its many forms. A major concern is the rise of misogyny and incel culture in an environment where most staff are female.

I don’t teach in mainstream now but when I did ten years ago I had children launch chairs across the room, escape school, one tried to strangle another, one tried to get a knife from the canteen. They were year one. I’ve been kicked, punched etc. one kid tried to kick my 9 month pregnant friend in the tummy. We had parents screaming at us, blaming us. One parent gave her kid a full fat coke and a bar of chocolate every morning because she wouldn’t ever say no to him and then as he wildly ran around the class destroying it, informed me that it was because he had adhd. (Nothing to do with the caffeine and sugar)

in amongst this I did also have lovely kids and lovely parents and really lovely memories. This was over a period of about ten years. But we had more TAs then to support us and we ran nurture groups to help some of the children as we were in a deprived area. But now all that money is gone. And things are getting even worse. I do worry for a lot of my teacher friends.

My Mums a teacher, she’s a bit old school to be fair and strict, but she’s in her 60s now and I do worry about her. She teaches year 6.

Shes been punched, spat at, sworn at, children have tried to hurt her. Her TA was pregnant and had kids intentionally try to hurt her in the stomach.

There have been so many accusations and lies from children trying to get my Mum “in trouble”, luckily there has always been witnesses and so she hasn’t been in trouble, but it’s just awful and she shouldn’t have to put up with it at work.

The accusations are exhausting
I manage a team of 4 teachers and there have been 8 false accusations (fully exonerated in all cases and demonstrably and quickly proven false) no apology or sanction to the students and parents

I wouldn't say scared, as in for my life, but extremely disappointed and stressed at what education has become. After 23 years I left, having loved it and going above and beyond for the school and students I genuinely cared about. When it became an Academy it became brutal, so many amazing teachers suddenly targeted, young inexperienced robot moulded MATs replaced them, same ppt presentations, micro management by inept people, SLT scared of parents. Such a shame, I'm glad I had my teaching career when we had that little amount of respect left.

Having done some supply the past couple of years I am aware of the danger that is in schools; pack culture gangs running amok, out of control and police have to brought in yet they still laugh at authority and the parents back them and threatened abuse!

I do think certain areas are becoming dangerous with the gang culture, so can imagine that yes the staff really will be scared for their lives. Xx

It's getting worse. We are sitting ducks as a profession.

Keyboard warriors, one set of unsatisfied parents complaining to ofsted/children's services/ governors/legal teams creating a huge workload...parents just seem more entitled these days? I even had a set offer to meet to "mutually agree" the days I was taking PPA as they weren't happy their daughter had gymnastics after school on a day our sports coach delivered our PE sessions!

Do you think it will change with a govt change? That's all I can hope for now. I really don't want to be so gloomy but this week I am really struggling

Genuinely interested in hearing why teachers feel behaviour has deteriorated. Who is to blame?

@MrsR87
restorative conversation route ???
I suppose it would have been bad for her mental health to apologise…maybe gave the girl anxiety! What the actual fuck!!!???
I think schools need to be careful where this whole lark is going…It’s in the work place too…people need to get a grip! It’s boring…
Parents too! Get your child into school…end of…we all want to stay in bed but drag our backsides out to work….
Everyone needs to just cop on a bit now…
sorry for the rant…

I totally agree
We have swung too far to listening to every child's every tiny feeling.
I also don't want to get out of bed some mornings.

@Undercovermole spiral of poverty and fundamental lack of hope, breakdown of societal structures and social mobility, cuts to services left, right and centre. The blame is with the government for designing and presiding over this (and partly the electorate for allowing it to happen by repeatedly voting the conservatives into power).

What I am really quite concerned about for my colleagues still teaching is the prevalence of knives, gang culture and the end of year 11, last year there was a teacher stabbed at the end of term by a student leaving the school in Bristol I think and I can quite easily imagine it becoming an initiation/dare event of 'getting' the teacher that you didn't like. I hope it doesn't but I don't think we are many steps away and it's not something I would ever have thought of happening when I first started working in education two decades ago.

So far this week I have had quite the shit kicked out of my shins (4 large purple/green bruises) and a chair lifted above a students head and thrown at me, but no I’m not scared because I work in a setting where it is acknowledged behaviour (SEMH) and so we have adequate staffing and training to deal with these incidents. I would be more worried working in main stream as there is a lack of acknowledgment of the potential risks to students and staff and consequently no level of protection in place.

Sounds like you are in a supportive school.

What is it with these parents. It is honestly getting worse .

Primary. Not scared at all. This thread makes me appreciate my school so much.

Who'd be a teacher today?
You've got stabbings to deal with also.

Largely worked in schools thought of as rough, first child I taught died from knife crime over twenty years ago. Have had a couple of lockdowns when outsiders bought knives on site more recently but the biggest change is the level of aggression. Have never seen such violence and abuse from young students. The challenging year 11 lads with no patience for school and no tolerance of staff who can’t control them are like the gentle giants who are also wondering what the fuck. I don’t feel personally scared but do feel sad to see so many youngsters who are destined for youth offending/prison futures.