| Teachers, parents and discipline |
| The issue: |
I was glad to hear you speak in defence of schools and teachers on the Today programme this morning and against the idea of appeals panels overruling the decisions of head teachers and governors.
Experiences reported by a teacher in these parts suggests that teachers need protection from parents as well as from pupils. Apparently its now quite commonplace in many if not most schools for one or both parents to phone or visit and abuse a teacher when their child has either been disciplined or simply spoken to sharply. "It can't have been my Jonny"; "You've no right to blame my Jonny" and "Don't you dare to ever speak to my Jonny like that again" seem to be at least as commonplace as any effort by parents to work with schools to correct a problem. |
| Date Issue Raised: |
27 Jan 2005 |
| My response: |
Thanks for your message. I was thrown when John Humphries referred to me as George Gardiner, but he corrected it quickly.
Yes I'm aware of the difficulties some teachers encounter in this respect, but fortunately, based on my visits to all the schools in my constituency it seems that this may not be as widespread as you fear. The difficulties at the Hurst, which is an excellent school, are unusual and I don't want to say anything which makes the resolution of the difficulties there more difficult.
I think the answer in the cases you refer to is for the teacher to stand up to any such abuse or bullying by parents, with whatever support is needed from head teacher and governors. Of course if there is serious abuse or threats then the parent is breaking the law, but I do understand the difficulties that stand in the way of following up with legal action. |
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website