VIOLENT and abusive behaviour by pupils towards teachers — including punching, kicking, shoving and being spat at — is getting worse, according to a poll of the profession by the NASUWT teaching union.

More than four in five teachers think the number of pupils exhibiting such behaviour has increased, in shocking findings released on the first day of the union’s annual conference in Liverpool today.

Delegates at the NASUWT conference will debate a motion which suggests that reports of “extreme pupil indiscipline,” including incidents involving knives and other weapons, are on the rise.

The motion calls on the union’s executive to work with the government to ensure teachers have the unequivocal support of ministers in taking action to secure “positive learner behaviour.”

It adds that the guidance on behaviour management should be strengthened to ensure “no exclusion” policies for pupils are “not legitimised” across the sector.

The survey of more than 5,800 NASUWT members in Britain suggests that two in five have experienced physical abuse or violence from pupils in the last 12 months.

A fifth of respondents said they had experienced being hit or punched by pupils in the last year, while 38 per cent said they had been shoved or barged.

About one in six said they had been kicked by pupils, while 9 per cent said they had been spat at, according to the NASUWT poll.

One teacher who responded to the survey said: “I have had two children use a fire hydrant as a weapon. One at my head, another to my foot.”

Another said: “This morning I was told to, ‘go die, I hope you die’.”

General secretary of the NASUWT Patrick Roach said: “Pupil behaviour has long been an issue for teachers, but recent years have seen an unprecedented surge in levels of violence and abuse in the classroom.

“Based on our latest data, we estimate as many as 30,000 violent incidents against teachers involving pupils with a weapon in the last 12 months.

“Many teachers are having to think about how they can survive in the classroom before they can begin to focus on their teaching and pupils’ learning.

“We are calling for the establishment of a national inter-agency forum on school safety and security led and chaired by ministers.

“We are also calling on the government to invest in properly funded services to identify and tackle the root causes of pupil violence and aggression.”

The Department for Education was contacted for comment.