Fighting talk

Worrying new figures have revealed that more than 80 per cent of school leaders have been abused by parents in the last year.

The poll of 1,600 members of the National Association of Headteachers said 10 per cent had been the victims of assault.

Many are considering leaving the profession and others have developed mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.

So how has this situation arisen, and what can be done about it?

I think there has been a growing lack of respect for teachers over the years; they appear to have had their professionalism questioned a lot more than those in other occupations.

But I think there has also been a growing lack of respect for other highly trained professionals.

Take medicine, which once was the preserve of doctors who were roundly respected.

Now a quick Google search can give any layman just enough ‘information’ to believe they know what’s best.

They will self-diagnose themselves or their children and will argue with the physician. Everyone is an expert!

The same applies to teachers who once were respected, with parents acknowledging that they knew best.

Of course, everyone has been to school so many think they already know how schools should be operating.

And with the ability to easily find information online, increasing numbers of parents are challenging educators – and sometimes aggressively.

This is a less comfortable thing to say, but in my view, teaching is about delivering subject material and working within those boundaries – good literacy and numeracy, for instance.

This involves developing independent thinking students who can question things and come to their own opinions.

There should be no indoctrination. Some recent trends have been worrying.

For example, I believe the moral aspect of sex education should be undertaken by parents and not schools.

Parents may do it badly, but it is their responsibility. The school should deal with biology and not foisting ‘woke’ morals onto children.

No matter how difficult this is, it is not the responsibility of the school.

I think that as schools cross into the areas of what should be in the control of parents, they take more responsibility for a child’s development than they should.

This puts schools and educational experts in the firing line and may be a catalyst for criticism and anger among parents as they don’t feel they are really in control.

With some schools keeping details of children ‘changing gender’ from their parents, and others unwilling even to share details of what they are teaching, parents will grow suspicious because of the lack of transparency.

There has also been a decline in student as well as parental behaviour. I remember being sworn at as a teacher and treated badly by a small minority of pupils.

Most of these students came from challenging backgrounds and were often brought up by single parents.

Many single parents do a superb job, but it is very hard for them. This is particularly true when boys have no male role model to look up to.

As our society faces a high divorce rate and more children come from unstable and uncaring homes this difficulty translates itself into the classroom.

As the problem comes from the home it is not possible for schools to solve it. They usually end up just trying to manage it. One troubled and disruptive pupil in a classroom can affect the learning of everybody.

So, what can be done?

Katherine Birblesingh is a fine example of how improvements can be made. She creates an orderly and disciplined environment at her Michaela Community School in London.

Bad behaviour is not tolerated, and high standards are expected from everybody.

A clear focus on delivering good literacy and numeracy is her focus. This can work itself back into homelife and help reverse some of these trends in society.

It also sets standards for parental behaviour and encourages positive engagement with the school.

Schools should educate and not indoctrinate. Their job is to help develop responsible and well-rounded citizens.

The government should encourage parents to take responsibility. The recent decisions to take away freedoms from academies is a mistake. Top-down solutions do not work.

Schools should be left alone to be creative and innovative. They will find the best solutions – and what works for one school might not work for another.

It might also become necessary to punish the worst parents as an example to everyone – and help reinforce the expected standards of behaviour.

They could be banned from school estates or even face arrest and charges. Teachers and school leaders must be free from intimidation.