How often have you been assaulted?

[uhhuhh]

Had a truly awful day today & I'd like to know how often (if ever!) you are assaulted at work- primary teachers especially. Today I was twice, happened twice previously in this school in recent months. How normal is this?

Not for a while. But I'm only there 2 days a week. Was threatened by a 5 year old with an unbent paper clip the other day but I stood my ground and he backed off.
In the past I've had years where the assaults were regular - at least once a week due to the issues surrounding particular children.
It's very common.

I've been barged into a few times and had my arm grabbed by a girl once.

In a special school I was hit in the face with a ball of snow (he'd crushed it up so it was like ice) by a pupil who was 17 6ft and about 20 stone. It really hurt, he came right up to me in the play ground to do it. He is very autistic.

Not assaulted but I’m regularly sworn at. I’m an LSA. I can take it from ‘my’ kids, but it’s never the ones I support, it’s the ones who have no additional needs who do it!

Having said that, I can remember as a child year 2, throwing a chair towards a teacher. I was running away from her and absolutely terrrified - I can remember the fear I felt. I was 7 and I’m nearly 30 now! It makes me remember to see everything from a child’s point of view before assessing a situation.

Not assaulted but I’m regularly sworn at

We discussed this recently at work - telling a teacher to "fuck off" no longer usually means an exclusion.

We discussed this recently at work - telling a teacher to "fuck off" no longer usually means an exclusion

Yesterday I told a year 8 to mind his language (I tend to just warn if it’s mot directed at anyone) and he told me ‘I don’t fucking care. FUCK FUCK FUCK.’

There was literally no consequence whatsoever. Not even a detention. Not even a reprimand!! I am a mere LSA and thus cannot give the DTs myself. 🙄

Not physically

Verbally abused more times than I can count.

Threatened a few times. Once when I genuinely though she'd follow through with it. (17 year old, FE college) First time I've been really scared and the first time I've had more than 2 days sick in 18 years. Management and the union were worse than useless.

My Db is a teacher, not at his current school but twice at his previous inner city school; he left because the head said it was part and parcel of the job.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2227510-How-many-teachers-have-been-attacked-threatened-by-students?pg=4&order= a thread I started under a different name a while ago. I forgot about it and just cried re reading it. I'm still there...

I have on a number of occasions, most recent today, bitten on arm through my jumper leaving a nasty purple bruise. Child bit down for several seconds before another member of staff managed to get child off.

I was hugely supported by finance staff who happened to be walking past me with tears in my eyes... but NOT SMT.

Said child had punched my colleague in the face the day before and should of been excluded there and then which would have prevented the incident today.

Myself and two colleagues work in an alternative curriculum room (primary) where there are several children aged 5-7 with learning and behavioural difficulties overseen by SENCO. However we are a mainstream school and we are just normal TA's trying to do our best. But I feel we are failing the children and SMT are failing their staff, not supported well at all.

I do enjoy my job and most of the time some of the children respond well. However there is a lack of consistency, one rule one and one for another confusing us and children

Only a couple of times with intent and that was by a child in year one who had had a horrendous upbringing.

As a nursery teacher in a mainstream primary but with a seemingly ever increasing intake of children who are on the spectrum - almost daily for a while. I had a new DP at the time and he was pretty cross when he’d see the bruises I had on my thighs from the kicking and the punching. Bearing in mind the ratios increased in Wales recently so there was me and my ta with 18 children and at least three that needed some sort of restraint on a daily basis because they became over stimulated and violent. It was heartbreaking and pretty painful.

No support from SLT, just a lot of nodding and sad face pulling.

I don’t teach anymore.

I am still traumatised from my last job in a special school for ASD having left last summer term. I lasted 6 months.
The students ruled. They swore at us ,used racist language, damaged school property and hit staff. I know of three people who had to go to A &E in the short time I spent there.
I was kicked in the stomach and badly bruised for asking a pupil to put down his phone. I had a tray bashed into me for asking a pupil to not jump the dinner queue.
SM did nothing. No consequences were given but the staff were grilled as to how the incident /attack could have been avoided by our actions. The staff always took the blame .
On a good day you only suffered verbal abuse .
It was hell!

Hit twice (in different schools) as a trainee. Chair thrown at me as a supply teacher. Pushed over by a parent as a supply teacher.
In my current school hit and kicked by pupil (officially no SEND, but almost certainly ASD) and stabbed in the hand with scissors (needed a couple of stitches after that). He wasn’t excluded, but was “asked to leave” at the end of term.
Most recently an ASD pupil pulled me over on Wednesday of last week. Bruised elbow, ripped tights and a bloody knee.

Just the once. A boy in nursery was angry that I had stopped him scraping chalk on the floor so he just reached over and punched me in the leg as I was sat opposite him at the time. He apologised later but I was shocked as it was the first time a child had ever shown violence towards me. It was my second last day that job too!

Never. It has maybe happened 3-4 times to any teacher during the 10 years I have been at my school.

I'm in a SEMH school so it's pretty constant. Verbal and physical abuse is a daily occurrence and we're supposed to just accept that as part of our role and greet the kids smiling again the following day, no matter how vile they've been.

Do they get consequences Betty ?

Almost daily at the moment. The behaviour units in our authority are full and the only other alternative is permanent exclusion which Heads are scared to do.
Was kicked, punched, badly bitten and had a chunk of hair pulled out, all by the same child, last week.

I couldn't cope with it Winky. I was a nervous wreck.
Only a few members of staff felt like I did too.
There was a culture of accepting it and you were made to feel bad if you complained.
I feel bad for the students there because a lot of them are learning this behaviour in the so called , special school that their parents were desperate get them into. Some come from miles away too.
It's just not right.

Several times in mainstream primary from the same two children. It was early in my career and I put up with it because I assumed it was part of the job. It isn't, my SLT should have been better and so should yours.

Later in different special schools, several times, mostly dealt with much better (but not always.) Call your union and take their advice- mine told me to refuse to teach the child until a proper plan was put in place, I wished I'd done it sooner.

Make sure it is all logged, there should be a system for doing this and you should have a chance to debrief immediately after the indicent and not have to go back to class until you are ready.

This also applies to PP in special schools /behavioural units. I've worked in both and some children needed a 3adults:1 child ratio to keep everyone safe. I know people are under huge pressure to put up with it as resources are tight and kids have nowhere else to go, but increasingly I feel that if everyone keeps their heads down, nothing will change. No one goes to work to get hurt.

I'm so sorry to hear this happened, Look after yourself

Yes there's consequences but they have limited effect.

Several times . Generally being caught by a child in the midst of a meltdown but a few deliberate kicks. Sworn and hit at by parents too but not for a few years. Primary mainstream but Sen school closures mean too many children are forced into mainstream and can struggle to cope.

Strangled twice (one of those was by a pupil with asd that I shouldn't have been left alone with), thrown across a room once, furniture and objects thrown at me, hit and kicked on too many occasions to count.

The worst behaviour I encountered was in an inner city primary school. The problem was SM, they were not supportive and you were seen as failing if you could not manage very extreme behaviour and carry on teaching a class of 30 with those pupils staying in it. Impossible task, they had excused those pupils behaviour so long that now they ruled. Even when the head sat in on a detention with them the pupils still talked and acted out.

I left teaching in the end, I now work in an equally stressful environment often with challenging behaviour, but when stuff happens there is a team of people who have each other backs. How it should be in teaching, but never was for me in 10 years.