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SIGNS OF A VICTIMISED TEACHER |
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Poor health and spending lots of time off sick. |
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Mood swings. |
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Constant nervousness. |
| Depression |
| Tearfulness for no reason. |
| Lack of confidence, putting themselves down and devaluing their abilities. |
| Hostility and defensiveness, complaining of feeling “picked on”. |
| Becoming withdrawn and not participating in lessons. |
| Physical injuries. |
| Torn or damaged clothing, with no explanation. |
| www.beatbullying.org |
Heads need to do more to protect teachers from bullying by pupils and other members of staff, according to MPs.
The intensity of schools makes it harder for teachers to avoid their bullies than people in other workplaces, the Commons education select committee found.
New powers which come into effect next week give teachers a clear legal right to discipline pupils. Jim Knight, schools minister, said teachers would be able to confiscate mobile phones used to film bullying or text insults.
However, teachers remain concerned that they will be targets for bullying by pupils and other staff members.
Andy Brown, a drama teacher at Ballymena academy in Northern Ireland will tell the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ annual conference next week that more should be done to stop pupils victimising staff via websites such as RateMyTeachers. Mr Brown’s teaching methods were criticised and he was called narrow-minded by a pupil on the website.
“That stung,” he said. “Teachers are not necessarily thick-skinned. It is bullying because you have no right to reply.”
Steve Sinnott, NUT general secretary, told the education select committee that bullying of teachers had increased and was “creating an environment in which everybody feels under stress”.
Many schools had not done enough to protect teachers from being bullied or assaulted by pupils, he said.
RELATED RESOURCES:
Bullying at work: what should you do?
How bullying nearly cost one teacher his life
March 30, 2007
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