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The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Issue 241 • March 4 2010 Price £1.00
www.sec-ed.com
I si
by Chris Parr
Inside

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Death threats and drunken insults
are among the appalling examples
of abuse dished out by parents to
‘I’m going
school staff.
Speaking to SecEd this week,
one headteacher told us how a par-
ent phoned a head of year and
threatened to “make him disappear”
because his daughter had been given
to make you
a detention.
In another school, a drunk parent
had to be temporarily banned from
the premises after verbally abusing
teachers and support staff.
Geoffrey Trease: A
SecEd’s investigation into
the issue comes as a report, car- disappear’
national treasure
ried out by the Teacher Support
Network and Parentline Plus char-
Popular author Geoffrey Trease,
ities, found that 64 per cent of
who passed away in 1998,
teachers claim to have been sub-
jected to verbal or physical abuse The shocking stories of violence
wrote inspiring stories about
by a parent.
treasure. Gareth Calway looks
The report claims that although
at this under-appreciated 80 per cent of teachers feel their
and threats against school staff
author and how he can be
interactions with parents are posi-
used to inspire reading
tive, around 70 per cent think they
Pages 8 and 9
would benefit from dedicated par- teacher, which threatened to dam- the best ways to engage parents Teachers, said: “There is much that away from the time that teach-
ent relationship training. age his reputation and undermine in education. is required of schools that creates ers would like and should have to
Teachers overwhelmingly his authority. • Better communication to detail unnecessary workload and high develop and maintain good rela-
reported that those parents who do The report, which also claims how parents can help their child’s levels of stress for teachers. tionships with parents, carers and
not engage, or with whom there is a that 62 per cent of parents have education in the home. “Much of this activity takes the wider community.”
bad or difficult relationship, have an felt patronised, sidelined or ignored Better parent/school relation-
“enormous impact” on their well- when trying to deal with an issue in ships can lead to improved attain-
being and work. their child’s school, makes a series ment, wellbeing and behaviour
Headteacher case study
In one of the case studies, a of recommendations to improve among students, the report claims.
“Like all schools, I suspect, we have had experiences of dealing with
teacher claims that parents view parent/school relationships. These Julian Stanley, chief executive
aggressive, irate parents at times who have no idea how to behave
Whiteboard focus
the school’s staff as “a punchbag include: of the Teacher Support Network,
for their anger”, describing how • A call for all schools to consult said the findings re-emphasised
when they are upset. It is, thankfully, rare but very unpleasant for staff
Interactive whiteboards are
one parent complained because the the whole school community the need for both parents and
when it happens.
now commonplace in our
school did not allow students to to create a comprehensive Home teachers to be aware of each oth- I have had to deal with a parent shouting at my staff, one
classrooms. We look at how
throw things in class. School Agreement. er’s needs.
swearing and threatening one of my senior colleagues and being
In another example, a par- • Giving every school access to a He said: “Teachers are still
this technology can be a
abusive to him in public with students watching.
ent repeatedly visits a secondary parent support worker who is working on average 50 hours a
crucial part of classroom
school to complain about one trained to deal with a range of week, and workload is a contribu-
I recently had one parent on the phone to a head of year
pedagogy teacher, eventually interrupting his family and emotional issues tory factor to the high levels of
threatening to ‘make him disappear’ because he did not want his
Page 10
class to vent their frustration. The and whose role and remit is fully stress among teachers, which can daughter to attend detention after school.
pupil had been making a series of understood. ultimately lead to talented individu-
Two years ago I had a parent tell me on the phone that he was
SecEd digital
“serious accusations” against the • Training for all school staff on als leaving the profession.
leaving home to come to school and ‘get me’.
“Although circumstances vary
depending on the type of school,
I do sometimes despair that schools have to tolerate this type of
and Twitter
Headteacher case study
teachers tell us that the tension
behaviour and that the advice from the county solicitor is that the courts
“It is impossible to go through a leadership career without
between a heavy workload and the will not support banning orders unless there is evidence of repeated
Thousands of teachers are encountering incidents of threatening parental behaviour. I’ve
demands from parents for more
poor behaviour and that the school can demonstrate that it has made
reading SecEddigital, a virtual encountered threats and foul language on a number of occasions
time-consuming forms of commu-
considerable efforts to change this behaviour over a period of time.
nications must be eased if engage-
edition of SecEd, which is
during my 10 years of headship, and on six occasions it has resulted in
ment is going to improve.”
When I go to social services, staff have all manner of protection
emailed out every week.
the perpetrator being banned from the school grounds. Teaching unions raised con-
against unwelcome visitors. This is not the case in schools.
You can sign up for free by
Incidents range from foul-mouthed tirades and angry mothers, to
cerns that implementing the The bottom line is that people have rights but if they fail
emailing editor@sec-ed.co.uk.
parents who have come in drunk and been abusive to receptionists
report’s recommendations would
to exercise them properly then they should be withdrawn until
SecEd news and features are
and teachers. We are fortunate to have a good relationship with the
create extra work for schools – and
responsibilities are met.
now also available on Twitter.
could end up further damaging
legal services department in the local authority, and they are usually very
relationships between parents and
Schools have the right to be treated with respect and staff and
You can follow us at www.
quick to gather our evidence, and implement any suspension that I have schools.
children should not be exposed to behaviours which are intimidating
twitter.com/SecEd_Education
recommended.”
Christine Blower, general and unwelcome.”
secretary of the National Union of
The Big Sports Day 2010
Join Macmillan Cancer Support’s
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Big Sports Day and help us raise
resources too – quality PSHE linked
materials for use at any time of the year.
funds, raise cancer awareness and
To find out more and to register,
raise heart-rates – all at the same time.
visit macmillan.org.uk/schools
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2007. Registered charity in England and
or call 0845 601 1716
Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907)
and the Isle of Man (604).
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