Adolescent boy, aged 14, physically restrained me in a classroom setting; however, I was reprimanded by school authorities instead of the perpetrator.
A primary school teacher in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was allegedly disciplined after refusing to teach a pupil who reportedly choked her in front of her class. Laura Linklater was left traumatized following the incident and subsequently resigned from her position, opting to home-school her own two children.
In an interview with The Sun, Laura claimed her teacher training did not adequately prepare her to handle such a physical assault, leaving her shaken. To make matters worse, the same pupil appeared in her class the following week without prior notice from school administrators.
During the Year 10 class, the pupil suddenly became aggressive, barging tables and chairs, leading Laura to ask him to tone down his behavior. However, the pupil allegedly pinned her against the classroom wall by her throat. A Sixth Form student intervened and another rang the alarm, after which the pupil was removed by a PCSO.
After the attack, Laura was only informed that the pupil had been dealt with, but he reappeared in her class during the following Monday's registration without any prior warning from school officials. Laura refused to teach the student, stating that she did not blame him but refused to have her attacker in her classroom.
During a subsequent meeting with a superior, Laura claimed she was told "it's your job" to teach the teenager, leading her to threaten to quit. She felt she was fighting for her basic right to not have aggressors in her classroom.
Months after the incident in late 2012, Laura left her job, citing the incident as the last straw. She later discovered that Laura's experience was shockingly common in the profession, with a survey by the NASUWT teachers' union showing that 40% of school teachers have experienced physical abuse or violence by pupils in the last 12 months. The survey revealed that 20% of respondents had been hit or punched, while 38% had been shoved or barged. Additionally, 81% of teachers believed the number of pupils showing violent and abusive behaviors had increased.
Despite the high rate of pupil assaults, there is currently no mandatory training for teachers to deal with violent assault, sexual harassment, or sexual assault from pupils. Jennifer Moses, National Official for Equalities and Training at the NASUWT, commented that while schools are obligated to handle pupil-on-pupil or staff-on-pupil violence and sexual harassment, specific training for dealing with pupil violence is not uniformly available or addressed nationally. Many educators feel they are not adequately supported by their employers in these situations.
I held my tears in long enough to find a classroom to cry in.
Another incident involving a police referral (not detailed in the original text) involves a mother, Sara Louise, who was referred to the police after her Year 10 daughter missed a few days of school due to illness. Sara took to TikTok to express her anger at the situation, claiming the school failed to meet her daughter's additional needs. Despite the school claiming a welfare check was necessary, Sara refused and questioned the implication that she was hiding or abusing her child.
The April NASUWT survey showed teachers reporting attacks from pupils with weapons such as knives and fire extinguishers. Many teachers feel that while the behavior of pupils is getting worse, the tools and deterrents they have available to maintain order in classrooms are becoming increasingly scarce. As a result, some classrooms have resorted to a more positive, consequence-free approach to discipline, which some believe has contributed to an increase in classroom violence.
Sources: The Sun, NASUWT Union, Children's Commissioner for England, BBC News, Times Educational Supplement.
In light of Laura Linklater's traumatic experience, she expressed concern about the lack of education-and-self-development for teachers on handling physical assaults from students, as her teacher training did not provide adequate preparation for such incidents (general-news). Furthermore, the issue of inadequate support from school administrators in managing pupil-on-pupil violence was raised by Jennifer Moses, National Official for Equalities and Training at the NASUWT, highlighting that specific training for dealing with pupil violence is not uniformly available or addressed nationally (crime-and-justice).
