Teacher awarded £850,000 in compensation after being seriously assaulted by pupil

Ahead of its annual conference in Birmingham over the Easter weekend, the Nasuwt teaching union released figures for compensation awarded to its members.

One case involved a member who was unlikely ever to be able to return to teaching after suffering a serious assault at the hands of a pupil, and was awarded £850,000 through the union.

The teacher was punched in the face and kicked by the pupil during a science lesson at his London school. At the time of the incident in January 2017 the pupil was not supposed to be in the teacher’s lesson because of previous violent and disruptive behaviour.

As a result of the attack, the teacher suffered physical and psychological injuries, including a head injury, tinnitus, hearing loss, bruising, back and ankle injuries, PTSD and severe depression.

Since the attack, he has been unable to work and medical experts have said it is unlikely he will ever be able to return as a result of the trauma he experienced. The Nasuwt said it has secured nearly £15m in compensation over issues such as unfair dismissal, discrimination and bullying.

Dr Patrick Roach, Nasuwt general secretary, said: “While compensation is recognition of the personal, and in some cases, financial loss that members have suffered, it can never make up for the impact which unfair treatment, discrimination and physical injuries have on individuals.”