By Cheryl Wood

ONE OF the best jobs going is being marred by a minority of aggressive pupils, according to a North East Fife teacher.

And the source—who wished to remain anonymous—said that the introduction to mainstream education of children who would previously have been taught in special schools was a huge factor.

His claims come in the wake of the assault conviction of a Dundee teacher.

Since Mike Barile was found guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court last week of assaulting two pupils, The Courier has turned the spotlight on the challenges teachers face in the classroom.

Mr Barile was admonished and the sheriff acknowledged that he had been subjected to “extreme abuse” by the boys.

The Fife teacher who spoke to The Courier yesterday said that due to the closure of special schools across the country, teachers were being asked to teach pupils who would have previously been educated by specially-trained staff.

He said, “This is one of the best careers around but it’s becoming harder and harder for staff because there’s a small minority of pupils who would previously have been taught elsewhere by specialist staff and the staff don’t have the resources to deal with them.”

If he was starting out on his career again today, he said there was “no way” he would become a teacher and added, “I feel real sympathy for new teachers who are going to be faced with less resources than we had 20 years ago.”

He claimed that pupils with additional needs were the source of many classroom disruptions.

“The closure of special schools and keeping these kids in mainstream education has had an impact as far as aggression towards teachers is concerned,” he said.

“I had a pupil with severe learning difficulties who went berserk in class, kicked the door clean off its hinges, punched a wall, threw stuff around and attacked another pupil.”

In a large secondary school, he alleged, such incidents could be a weekly occurrence.

He added, “In any given week teachers will be verbally abused three or four times or some up to 50 times.

“Verbal abuse towards teachers is far more prevalent than it was 20 years ago.”

While those in other occupations would be protected from their abusers, teachers often find a pupil they have reported back in their classroom a week later.

He said, “There is huge pressure to keep kids in the classroom.

“There is a reluctance among education authorities and school management to exclude kids and that is putting staff under a lot of pressure.

“What is acceptable now wasn’t acceptable even 10 years ago. That puts teachers in a very vulnerable position.”

While he conceded reporting of abuse was much better than it used to be, the source claimed there remained a reluctance among teachers to report incidents.

He added, “A lot of staff don’t feel supported when a pupil is being aggressive and threatening, they don’t feel the allegations are taken seriously enough.”