Schools fear bad publicity more than attacks on teachers

Teachers at one in five schools have been kicked or punched, according to a Government-commissioned survey of school violence published yesterday.

At one in ten, pupils were found to have brought weapons to school. And at one in six staff have been pushed or spat at. However, schools are afraid to report incidents to the police because they are worried about bad publicity.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust carried out the survey of 2,300 schools for the Department for Education after a series of violent attacks in or near schools, including the murder of Philip Lawrence, the London head teacher.

Though most of the danger to teachers comes from their own pupils, the report warns that the ease with which outsiders can gain access to schools needs urgent attention.

Where staff are assaulted by outsiders, they are likely to be parents of pupils or former pupils.

More than a quarter of schools reported that parents had caused a serious disturbance on the premises.

Serious assaults on teachers and pupils are rare, but the overall level of violence in schools is "a cause of concern", says the report.

Dr Martin Gill, one of the report's authors said that one of the most worrying findings was schools' reluctance to report incidents. "Schools are under great pressure to have good public relations yet any initiative must involve the police if it is to succeed."

Only 2.9 per cent of the schools surveyed reported that teachers had been attacked by pupils with weapons.

The research from the Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order at Leicester University found that teachers had received personal safety training at only 14 per cent of schools.

Diana Lamplugh, the trust's founder, said: "The problem is that many schools still do not take their responsibility for security seriously enough."

Ministers are to issue guidance shortly on how schools and the police should work together with troublemakers.

Estelle Morris, the schools minister, said: "The tragic incidents of recent years are thankfully rare, but safety in schools remains one of our priorities."

Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said the report "fully justifies the warnings we have been issuing about the safety of our members."

- Judith Judd, Education Editor