Teachers stressed over pupils' bad behaviour

Seven in 10 teachers have considered quitting the profession because of badly-behaved pupils, a survey found.

A poll of more than 350 teachers found that over nine in 10 (91.9 per cent) believe behaviour in the classroom has worsened over the course of their career.

Nearly half (45.2 per cent) said behaviour in their current, or most recent school was "inadequate", while only one in five (19.7 per cent) said they would say it was "good" or "outstanding".

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Over half (56.8 per cent) said they were deliberately verbally distracted by pupils on a daily basis over their last year of teaching, while nearly a third (31.8 per cent) said pupils refusing to work had been a daily occurrence.

The 2010 Behaviour Survey, conducted by the Teacher Support Network, Parentline Plus and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) found that dealing with unruly pupils is harming teachers' health and leaving

many thinking about a career change.

More than a third (36.8 per cent) said they had taken time off work, while two fifths (40.5 per cent) said they had applied for a job in another school. Some 70.8 per cent said they had considered leaving

teaching.

And more than eight in 10 (81.2 per cent) said they had experienced stress, anxiety or depression.

The survey also reveals that a third of teachers think that powers to search pupils for pornography, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol and other substances are "essential" in improving pupil behaviour.

Related topics: