In January alone, five head teachers were attacked by parents, while 10 were threatened.

The union which will hold its annual conference this weekend, has called on police, governors and local authorities to take the "strongest possible action" to support head teachers and their families.

What are your experiences? What should be done to tackle violence in schools?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

Are these people really criminals, or are they unable to vent their anger at a teaching system that clearly doesn't work? If anybody would listen to them in the first place, passions would not reach these levels; there's two sides to every coin.
K Black, North East

Make expelled kids do community service or send them to military school Christine, UK

I myself am a teacher, and I know that if I were to put a finger on a problem child, I not only face the risk of being beaten up by his/her parents, I would probably lose my livelihood as well. What other profession puts up with being that vulnerable for such low pay? It's not a teacher's job to bring up kids. It's the parents' responsibility to instil the respect for others that a child needs to function in school. If that doesn't happen the children should be expelled so that they don't disrupt the education of those that do behave. And let's make expulsion hurt. Make expelled kids do community service or send them to military school. And force the parents of expelled children to do community service as well, in a place where they get to see just how awful the situation in schools is today.
Christine, UK

Violence is violence. It is equally illegal and unacceptable whether it is against teachers, the police, nurses in A&E or Abigail Witchalls. Why does this need special consideration? Why don't the police take the "strongest possible action" against anyone and everyone who threatens violence?
Bryan, Edinburgh

Surely a violent assault means prison no matter what the circumstances. One can see where the offensive unruly child comes from. From the home where there is a violent or useless parent.
Michael, Plymouth

Stop the teachers bullying children and the parents will stop threatening teachers Lee, UK

It honestly doesn't surprise me that some parents go and threaten teachers for the simple fact that a lot of teachers are bullies who threaten children. I have witnessed this first hand. So stop the teachers bullying children and the parents will stop threatening teachers.
Lee, UK

My daughter is bullied on a daily basis in school. I go in to try to get the school to take action but constantly get told "there's not much we can do". I do NOT condone abuse of staff, but I can see there might be parents at the end of their tether. Perhaps it's time to admit that this problem is not all the parents fault.
Jon Cooper, Camborne, Cornwall.

Discipline starts at home. I was brought by my parents to respect the teachers and do as I was told - so I didn't need disciplining at school. Is it really any surprise that the parents of disruptive children are ill-disciplined themselves? Children spend less than a fifth of their time at school - we cannot blame teachers and schools for lack of discipline - the blame lies with the parents.
Sam, Sheffield

Get a lawyer and follow his advice Alan, Gibraltar

I don't see anything special or new that cannot be addressed by simply putting existing laws into practice. If you get assaulted or threatened get a lawyer and follow his advice, like everyone else has to do in plenty of other contexts.
Alan, Gibraltar

As a teacher I have zero tolerance of violence from students or parents. If a parent shows violent behaviour toward me, their child will be expelled. Violence toward me by students also ends with expulsion. If parents won't control their behaviour or instil proper behaviour in their children, then parents can be responsible for educating them.
Kevin, CA, USA

Isn't it odd that we're having to ask what to do with them? Isn't it strange that we ask what to do with criminals? The answer is simple. If they cannot abide by decent behaviour in our society, then they must be removed from it. Their rehabilitation should come second to our ability to live our lives without threat of harm in society.
Nat, London, UK

One of the parents should be made to attend the child's school for one month and sit in with every lesson to keep their child under control. Failure to do this or to attend should incur penalties such as huge fines or withholding chid benefit or other social security payments.
Roger Best, Wednesbury, England

I saw little concern from them when my disabled four year old was assaulted and abused in school Rosie, Liverpool

I have little sympathy for the teachers on this one. I saw little concern from them when my disabled four year old was assaulted and abused in school. I don't shout at, let alone thump, people, but I have more understanding for those parents who do than I have for the teachers who let horrors happen to children in their supposed care, and don't lift a finger to stop it.
Rosie, Liverpool

I don't understand why violent parents don't end up in jail. A mother at my daughter's school threatened two teachers with violence when her daughter was punished for bullying. Obviously, the girl's mother is the root of the problem!
John, London

I'm a student at a good secondary school in Cheshire. Kids at school do not behave anywhere like how their parents believe they do. They're abusive and aggressive. Their parents believe their kids are angels, and nothing will convince them otherwise.
Bob Bennett, Nantwich

Quite simple, make the parents pay. Make them pay for the damage they cause and make them pay for any medical treatment. Ban them from coming to the school. If parents were held responsible for their actions, as well as the actions of their young children, they may become more responsible.
J Wright, Chadwell Heath, Essex

If parents aren't happy they can always home educate their child, or look for another school Paul G, London, UK

When parents choose a school they should give total responsibility for their child's education to the head teacher and staff of that school. A head teacher has got better things to do than deal with a disgruntled parent who thinks that Mr Smith has been picking on their offspring. If parents aren't happy they can always home educate their child, or look for another school. When I was a teacher, I was never threatened or abused by a parent, but I did find some parents more difficult to handle than their disruptive offspring. The simple answer is not to allow parents into schools without a prior appointment. If the problem is as bad as it sounds, it may be necessary to hire security staff for parents' evenings and the head may need a personal minder. It will cost less than prison sentences.
Paul G, London, UK

I am a parent with children at a state primary school and I find these statistics, and the stories from other contributors, quite frightening. But I am not surprised. I am not surprised because I have a friend who is head of art at a "sink school" where she is routinely stabbed in the arm with a pair of compasses by a boy who claims that she is his favourite teacher. My own experience has taught me (a product of a 70s education), to respect and sort of fear teachers. I am far too much in grateful awe of the mild-mannered 30 and 40 something women, in calm, sublime and total charge of 30+ pupils, to do anything other than gush praise, support fully and buy decent Christmas presents. Why do other parents feel the need to hit and intimidate these educators of our children? We should expect more from ourselves before we presume to expect more from others.
CCC, England

Whatever happened to respect for those who do the best for our children?
K Spanswick, Andover

Parents should not be allowed on school premises apart from a specific parent area Matt, Portsmouth

Firstly, parents should not be allowed on school premises apart from a specific parent area. If a parent can get in then anyone can. Secondly, teachers should only talk to parents in a controlled area with additional members of staff. Thirdly, all teachers should be given self defence training. If a parent hits a teacher that teacher should defend themselves. Finally, where it is needed security guards should be hired and CCTV installed in all class rooms. You can't change the parents, but you can protect the teachers.
Matt, Portsmouth

I have little time for many of teachers' standard complaints - low pay, workload etc. However this is something that they should have all our full backings on. It is appalling they have to put up with any sort of threats or abuse, be it from pupils or parents. I know it is an old fashioned concept but it is about time we starting respecting others again, rather than focusing solely on our own rights.
Alistair, Belfast

The problem in schools today is that pupils know that they can get away with anything and the only punishment they will face is being suspended, which in today's society means a week or two at home with all of their computer games and the TV, which is hardly a punishment. When I was at school there was no corporal punishment but the headmaster was still a fearsome character who kept most pupils in check. But with the liberal attitude prevailing at the moment, disruptive pupils have nothing to fear about behaving badly!
Paul Woolley, UK

Any adult who threatens or abuses a teacher should be charged Michael Mciver, Hastings

Any adult who threatens or abuses a teacher should be charged, the trouble is that in this day of 'save the criminals', they are not given any meaningful punishment.
Michael Mciver, Hastings

This isn't just a problem in 'Sink Schools'. My wife works in a school in one of the most affluent parts of the country, yet she has suffered verbal abuse, and was recently threatened with violence. The perpetrators of these cowardly acts seem to be in senior positions in their jobs, who would appear to believe that it's perfectly acceptable to treat those around them as if they are some form of lesser being.
John, England

I recall people talking of zero-tolerance for drunken yobs. How about the same for violent offenders? Assault is a criminal offence. Treat it as such.
Phil, Leics

I work as a dinner lady in an infant school and last week had to fill in two incident reports due to violent aggression against me. The parents simply don't care or take the "my darling wouldn't do that, it must have been something you did" attitude. I would love every parent to spend a week working in the school, to see exactly how their little "darlings" really behave.
Jenny, West Midlands

The offending parents should be subjected to the full rigour of the law Brian, Sheffield

My wife is a dedicated infant teacher, unreservedly committed to the welfare of children and the interactive process of education. She encounters increasing verbal aggression from certain parents and, due to her 5'1" stature, attempts to physically intimidate. The offending parents represent a small but significant minority of those encountered at "open" evenings. When these same individuals compound their intimidation with false written accusations, there is insufficient support from senior managers within the school. The offending parents should be subjected to the full rigour of the law before more damage is done to the motivation and the physical well-being of dedicated professionals.
Brian, Sheffield

And so it comes full circle. These violent parents are probably the children who first went through our schools when discipline was removed. Proper discipline in schools means discipline in the children. The government and the education system have only themselves to blame.
Jason, Shepton Mallet, Somerset

Violence in schools or elsewhere cannot be stopped until the electorate take control of their politicians. Laws work only on the law abiding and the cowardice of politicians means there is no prospect of stopping malicious violence. Were the electorate in control, crime would be virtually wiped out very quickly by bringing back corporal/capital punishments. No other solution can, or will, ever work.
Brian Langfield, Yorkshire, UK

Not much is being done to resolve this problem R. Gonzales, Leicester

My brother is a supply teacher, and he is always complaining about the way pupils behave at school. They are becoming very abusive towards him and the abuse is so extreme that he told me that it can get physical - not to mention the calling of racist abuse and other comments. He is very afraid to go back to work but he have to do it to survive, like all of us - and despite all this not much is being done to resolve this problem.
R. Gonzales, Leicester

I am a parent but I have not been involved in any form of violent confrontations with my kids' educators. Issues have always been resolved through dialogue. Any parent who indulges in any form of violence against any teacher, should be dealt with full weight of the law. Also, any parent with a violent history should be accompanied by security whenever they are on school premises. Parents need to be educated more on the need to respect teachers and not abuse them. Violence is not a good example for kids. Parents should do more to discipline their children as charity begins at home.
Omorodion Osula, Boston, USA

I agree with the majority view given so far. It's about time parents were held accountable for their children's actions and not to blame the teachers or anyone else for that matter. No teacher should ever have to put up with abusive parents. No wonders their kids turn out the way they do with that sort of example.
Peter, Sussex, UK

Assault is a criminal offence, irrespective of where it takes place. The same laws apply within school walls as outside of them and the penalties need to be executed in the same way.
Edi, Stirling, Scotland

We have to find out why parents no longer support the school Andy H, Cheshire, England

Legislation is not the answer. We have to find out why parents no longer support the school, instead defending their 'little angels' no matter what they've been up to.
Andy H, Cheshire, England

Violence in any form cannot and should not be tolerated, but this highlights the lack of respect that our society appears to display, especially towards teachers, doctors, policemen, firemen, paramedics. And if violence is tolerated by the parents, what hope have we of properly brought up children? We need to enforce a zero-tolerance approach in all walks of life.
Lenny P, Guildford

Jail the abusive parents. They should be deemed unfit and have their children temporarily removed from their custody until things can be sorted out.
Stephanie, London, UK

My mother is the head of the disciplinary panel for my ex-secondary school and the people who go through the system really are the dregs of society. Only once has she seen a case where it could truly be said that it wasn't the parents' fault that their child was in this state. I say we should be tackling parents and their attitudes. However, I understand that this is very difficult to achieve
Adam, Leicester

It is all very well that the National Association of Head Teachers wants the support of governors and local authorities. But this will achieve nothing unless the courts use their power to the full and not a slap on the wrist.
Bumble, Dartford, Kent

The government has to crack down now in order to halt the growth of attacks Rob, London

Any parent who physically attacks a teacher should be given an automatic jail term of no less than 6 months. These so-called 'parents' are making teachers' jobs even more stressful and demanding. Perhaps after their jail term they could be forced to work as classroom assistants and see how their perfect children really behave. The government has to crack down now in order to halt the growth of attacks.
Rob, London

Publicly name and shame these parents, make them publicly apologise and have to spend time doing voluntary work in the school - whether it's cleaning loos, helping in class, in the canteen, helping teachers run play time activities for the kids. Get them involved in THEIR children's' education and daily life and make them realise their responsibilities. I'm fed up reading about bad parents blaming other people, it's time this was changed.
Nicola BR, Sevenoaks

One of the few good things about the new GP contract is that PCTs have to have a system to see violent patients in a secure setting, rather than being registered with a normal practice. It sounds as if a similar system is needed in schools, especially as I would suspect that there is a strong link between bullying, violent parents and bullying, violent pupils.
Jon G, Huddersfield UK

Parents who carry out violent attacks against teachers should be jailed - plain and simple.
Jonny, England

Teachers and head teachers should be given the full support of the government to tackle ill behaved pupils and their equally ill behaved parents. Violence on violence will not resolve much, but a head teacher should have the power to use physical means to remove these people from the premises. A government more sympathetic to these problems rather than pandering to "child rights" would also be very welcome.
Paul, England