Teachers who refuse to break up fights could face censure

School staff could be seen as neglecting their duty of care if they refuse to step in to protect youngsters who are seriously hurting each other, it has emerged.

The revelation came after a major teaching union announced plans to write to all members warning them to be cautious about physically intervening in pupil brawls.

Leaders of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) will advise school staff that those who try to split up violent children may not receive compensation or have medical bills paid for injuries suffered in such an incident. They are taking the move after Glasgow City Council refused to pay the dental bill of a teacher who was accidentally punched in the face while separating two fighting pupils.

However, it has now emerged teachers could face a dilemma of whether to intervene and face injury, or not to take action and risk being fired by council bosses.

John Stodter, general secretary of the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland , said teachers who stood back from violent incidents could face action if pupils were allowed to inflict serious harm on each other.

"Depending on the circumstances that could be the case," he confirmed, before adding: "Teachers have a duty of care towards the youngsters they teach so they would have to exercise that duty of care, but they would also have to balance that with their own safety."

He said staff in any other profession who lost a finger or leg, for example, in the line of duty would be entitled to support. "Teachers should be treated like any other valued employee. It is a stressful enough job, so I would have thought as a responsible employer, you would have to have policy and procedures in place to support and protect people both physically and psychologically."

The situation is likely to be particularly relevant in Scotland's special schools which often see a high degree of physical contact with children.

Judith Gillespie, policy development manager of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said parents would want to know their children were being protected from violent classmates by school staff. She said: "They would not understand, in these kind of circumstances, if teachers did not take steps to stop fights."

Ms Gillespie said she was "absolutely amazed" that the council did not have to support the teacher in the Glasgow case.

She added: "Particularly if it could be deemed negligent, on the part of the teacher, not to intervene because that would make it part of what the teacher was expected to do. Self-insuring doesn't mean a council escapes its liability – it means they will pay liability claims out of their own budget."

A financial claim by the SSTA said the council should pay the 2,500 bill for the 58-year-old woman to have dental treatment to repair broken teeth as it occurred while she was at work. However, the claim was rejected by the council.

Josephine Giblin, the council's senior claims officer, wrote to the teacher advising her the claim is invalid because there was no negligence on the part of the council. She said: "The council is self-insured in relation to claims of this nature and compensation can only be paid if the loss or damage occurs due to negligence on the part of the council."

The number of attacks on teachers and pupils in schools has risen in recent years, according to recent statistics. Total recorded incidents, including verbal abuse, rose by 4.3 per cent in 2007, figures obtained from councils using the Freedom of Information Act revealed. Physical attacks on teachers and pupils rose by 2.2 per cent between 2005-6 and 2006-7.

And a survey last year by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers revealed primary pupils are more violent than those in secondary. A third of the primary teachers questioned reported violent behaviour such as punching and kicking. That compared to a fifth of secondary teachers, in the survey which questioned 1,000 teachers across the UK.

Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA), admitted teachers were stuck between a rock and a hard place on whether to break up fights.

She said: "There is no doubt about it. Not only would a teacher never walk away from a pupil who is being injured, their contract requires them to take action, whether that be notifying colleagues in senior management or physically intervening themselves."

Such financial claims for medical treatment were likely to be rare and confined to dental, optical or psychological problems, she said, as most would be covered by the NHS.

The SSTA is now asking members to clarify with their own councils which would agree to pay for treatment and exercise caution in local authorities who said they wouldn't.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: "All claims are judged on their individual merits. Advice is given to staff to consider their own safety and not put themselves at risk or any danger in a particular situation. We take the safety of our staff very seriously."