Last week, our research showing that school leaders and their staff are increasingly suffering abuse or threats from parents really struck a chord within the profession.
We were contacted by members thanking us for raising awareness of the issue – perhaps highlighting that because, thankfully, only a minority of parents behave in this way, school leaders can feel alone in facing abuse.
As their union, we want them to know that we are on their side, and we are embracing the No Excuse for Abuse campaign kick-started by our fabulous colleagues in the North East.
The findings of our survey, completed by more than 1,600 school leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, show that those experiencing abuse are far from alone.
More than four-fifths (82%) said they had faced parental abuse in the previous year, with 86% saying it had increased in the last three years.
Abuse can include everything from verbal abuse (85%), to threatening behaviour (68%), online abuse (46%), discriminatory language (22%) and even physical violence (10%).
The survey followed a motion supported unanimously at our annual conference last year, calling for us to raise awareness of No Excuse for Abuse nationally.
The campaign was originally adopted by NAHT’s Sunderland branch, where members were increasingly hearing reports of colleagues being abused by parents. It was then shared by NAHT members throughout the region.
School leaders and their staff wear No Excuse for Abuse badges and display posters in areas visible to parents like reception. We have seen some amazing results. One parent who was shouting at a school leader in Yorkshire stopped in her tracks when she saw their No Excuse for Abuse badge. She later apologised.
We want to say loud and clear to the minority of parents and guardians responsible for this abuse that it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We need parents to pause and think about not only the terrible example it sets for children who witness it, but also the harm it can do to children’s education.
In our survey responses, some school leaders told us they and their staff had been left suffering anxiety, depression and panic attacks. With the best will in the world, how can they be in a good place to run a school, lead learning and support pupils, if they are feeling this way?
Some said the abuse had prompted them to consider quitting the profession they love at a time when schools are already facing a severe recruitment and retention crisis. Without enough dedicated leaders and teachers, children’s education inevitably suffers, and we are more likely to see bigger class sizes and teaching by non-subject specialists.
But what is causing this increase in abusive behaviour? It is difficult to know for sure. The vast majority of parents still have positive relationships with schools, and virtually all have their children’s best interests at heart.
Schools are certainly seeing more pupils and parents struggling after a decade of under-investment under previous governments in social care, mental health services, and support for children with additional needs. This happened alongside cuts to welfare support, and we then had the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.
As one of the public services families most often encounter, parents have increasingly looked to schools for help which may not be in their gift to provide. Schools do their level best to offer support, but they often lack the resources or ability to quickly access inundated specialist services.
Staff may have their own worries about pupils they believe need support, and we have heard from members that referrals to children's services can be a catalyst for abusive behaviour.
Another contributory factor is surely the rise of social media and instant messaging apps. Our survey exposed widespread reports of trolling on social media and in parent groups on Facebook and WhatsApp. It is now easier than ever for parents to vent their frustration, harass and intimidate school leaders and staff, and share what can quickly turn into hate campaigns.
There was also the increasing tendency of previous governments to talk the profession down, and a failure to treat school leaders and their staff with the respect they deserve. At times, it seemed ministers were trying to drive a wedge between parents and schools.
I remember one secretary of state even encouraged parents to complain to Ofsted during the pandemic. Perhaps this emboldened some to challenge schools in completely inappropriate ways.
Thankfully, the tone of the new government seems to be somewhat different. But what else needs to be done? In their survey responses, leaders told us about actions they are taking in response to abuse, from issuing warning letters and arranging meetings with parents, through to reporting them to police or the council or banning them from the premises. By then, abuse may have taken a huge personal toll, also adding to already-heavy workloads. We need to prevent it happening in the first place.
That is why we want the government to send a strong message to parents that abusive behaviour towards school leaders and staff will not be tolerated. It isn’t tolerated in industries like health and transport, and it is not unusual to see posters in hospitals and on trains sending that clear message.
School leaders and their staff won’t always get everything right. They are human, and mistakes happen. Where parents have concerns or complaints, they should of course be able to raise these, and it is right that schools have policies and procedures in place.
However, this must be done respectfully, and in responding to our survey, some members highlighted vexatious use of complaints procedures. A separate poll we carried out last year, found that 83% of school leaders had seen an increase in vexatious complaints. That’s why we are urging the government to review complaints procedures. School complaints policies are frequently ignored, and grievances escalated unnecessarily, sometimes to multiple agencies at the same time, from the DfE, to Ofsted and the Teaching Regulation Agency.
We want guidelines to be strengthened to ensure complaints are only heard by one body at a time, and that a school’s complaints procedure must be followed before they can be escalated.
Separately, we need social media platforms to do more to remove comments which clearly constitute or are inciting abuse or harassment. If necessary, the government needs to go further in compelling them to do so.
Finally, as a leader or member of school staff, you can do your bit to support our campaign and help prevent abuse in your school by downloading our campaign poster (see below) – making it clear that there can never be an excuse for abuse.
- Paul Whiteman is general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. Read his previous articles for Headteacher Uupdate via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/paul-whiteman
Further information & resources
- NAHT: No Excuse for Abuse: Free posters for schools: Click here.