Teachers lack support to deal with school violence

More and more students are carrying offensive weapons in school, according to a study carried out for the NUT teaching union.

Researchers from Warwick University found that 1.9% of teachers now find weapons on their students on a weekly basis; in 2001 the figure was just 0.5%. The percentage discovering weapons on a monthly basis has risen from 2.6% to 3.3%.

Shortly before his untimely death on 5 April, NUT general secretary Steve Sinnott told the union’s annual conference last month that teachers needed extra support to deal with violence. He added that schools should be weapons-free, and that pupils found to be armed should be permanently excluded.

The Warwick survey – based on interviews with 1,500 teachers from 13 local authorities – also discovered that teachers now feel less supported in certain key areas than they did in 2001. The number considering that they receive poor support following an assault has increased from 29% to 31%, for example.

Although cases of abuse and damage to property by pupils have decreased in most schools (along with threats of violence from parents and other third parties against pupils and teachers), the remainder are now experiencing these problems more acutely.

An interim report on the survey findings can be downloaded from www.teachers.org.uk/resources/word/Survey-Disruptive%20Pupil%20Behaviour-2008_JB.doc