Poor pupil behaviour is having a significant impact on teachers’ physical health, new data from NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, suggests.
Teachers who experience severe behaviour incidents such as physical or verbal abuse, violence, misogyny and sexual assault report higher rates of almost every work-related health issue compared to those unaffected by behaviour.
Data on behaviour in schools from over 10,000 teachers from across the UK has found that while headaches and migraines are the most common health condition experienced by all teachers, 70% of those impacted by behaviour report experiencing them, compared to 61% of those teachers unaffected by pupil behaviour. For teachers who had experienced being assaulted with a weapon, rates were even higher at 83%.
Experience of frequent nausea nearly doubles to nearly 16%, compared to 8% of teachers who do not report significant concerns about pupil behaviour. Rates were even higher among teachers who reported having experienced sexual harassment by a pupil, at 34%.
Rates of those reporting neck pain rise by nearly 7%, back pain by over 4% and high blood pressure by over 4%. Again, rates of these conditions were even higher among teachers who had been assaulted with a weapon.
The link between mental health and pupil behaviour is well established and underlined by NASUWT’s research, however, the significant impact to teachers’ physical health is arguably under-recognised.
The data shows that low-level disruption remains the biggest behaviour challenge experienced in schools, but nearly six in ten teachers (59%) reported being verbally abused by pupils in the previous year and nearly one in five (17%) reported being physically assaulted.
Where such incidents occurred, only a third of teachers said they felt their employer dealt with the issue in a satisfactory manner.
Matt Wrack, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“It is important to remember that most pupils behave well and that most schools are places of safety and order most of the time. However, it is clear that for a significant number of teachers poor, and at times, abusive behaviour is disrupting learning and affecting their physical and mental wellbeing.
“Where violent and abusive behaviour does occur, schools and colleges have a responsibility to protect staff and pupils. Many do so, but in too many staff do not feel adequately supported and children and young people are being placed at risk.
“In many cases poor behaviour is the response to unmet SEND needs, poverty, mental health problems and the impact of wider societal pressures.
“Schools can and should act to ensure they have in place clear, consistent, whole-school approaches to managing pupil behaviour which support staff to uphold good order. But schools cannot tackle this alone. Governments need to invest in fit for purpose SEND support, early intervention services and greater coordination between education, health and children’s services, as well as working to alleviate the scourge of poverty and inequality that does so much to damage children’s life experiences.”
