Teachers have called for a new task force against violent behaviour in schools.

Delegates at the NEU teaching union conference in Brighton voted for a motion that seeks a national campaign to reduce pupil violence.

Teachers shared stories of colleagues being assaulted and abused in their schools, as part of the debate on the motion.

Charlotte Lawrence from Portsmouth, who proposed the motion, said this year she had spent “more time managing the dangerous behaviour of a small number of pupils in my class than delivering the high-quality education that the whole class deserves”.

She added: “Staff are being grabbed, kicked, punched, spat at, cornered in classrooms, subjected to threats and left managing corridors that feel more like crowd control than education, and pupils are suffering, too.

“Children are being assaulted by peers, witnessing frightening incidents and trying to learn in environments where emotional dysregulation becomes the norm because there aren’t enough staff or resources to intervene early or safely.”

Pupils should not be blamed for the increase in violent behaviour, she added, saying the rise is often due to their needs not being met, mental health challenges and unrecognised trauma.

Teachers left with ‘bruises and bites’

Seconding the motion, Susan Kent said one of her members was “left with bruises and bites” due to a pupil exhibiting violent behaviour in her class.

The motion called for a comprehensive survey of members’ experience of violence in schools, promoting practices that support pupil wellbeing while managing behaviour.

It also sought: a national framework for school safety; training for members on de-escalation; and the establishment of a violence in schools task force to support affected members and make policy recommendations.

Laura Ann Watford, also from Portsmouth, told delegates of a teacher who “was beaten to the ground by a student and kicked 14 times...while she was on the floor”, adding that “this teacher, despite being absolutely traumatised and never returning to the classroom, never blamed the child”.

Amy-Jane Clarke from Norfolk reported that 60 per cent of female members surveyed in her area had said they have wanted to leave working in education due to experiencing violence and misogyny.

Many respondents, most of whom were support staff, had experienced misogynistic comments, and some had been injured.

Bad behaviour disrupting learning

On Tuesday, Tes reported on an NEU survey of 10,715 members, which found that two-thirds of teachers said bad behaviour by pupils regularly disrupted learning in school.

That is similar to 2024, when 67 per cent of the NEU members surveyed said behaviour was having a negative impact on learning either regularly or all the time.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “Schools are running on empty and don’t have enough staffing and pastoral support. Access to [special educational needs and disabilities] and mental health specialists is a real challenge, and this makes it harder for schools to intervene early.

“Teachers don’t want to see students missing out on education, but without the right support and a curriculum that has flexibility and scope for adaptation, too many students can’t cope with expectations.”

Staff facing physical injury in schools

A survey by the NASUWT teaching union last year found that more than four in five teachers felt the number of pupils exhibiting violent and abusive behaviour had increased, with two in five saying they had experienced physical abuse or violence.

General secretary Matt Wrack said this week that the level of staff facing physical injury in schools is “alarming”.

Analysis from the National Foundation for Educational Research has found that teachers who say behaviour is worse in their school are more likely to leave teaching.

The government has created 93 ”hubs” aiming to support around 3,000 schools across the country in improving attendance and behaviour.

A teaching union has said that a teacher received a six-figure payment in damages after a pupil threw a toaster and a chair at them.

The member of staff was punched and kicked by the pupil as they were removing them from the classroom, the NASUWT said, adding that they suffered severe enough physical injury to require surgery.

The payment forms part of £15,432,178.60 that the NASUWT said it secured for members in 2025 for successful claims relating to unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination, personal injury and health and safety.