The incidents are revealed in a new survey showing that 43 per cent of school staff have had to deal with physical violence from a pupil in the last 12 months.
The research, by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), reveals that those who have faced violence report being pushed or shoved (77 per cent), kicked (52 per cent), punched (37 per cent), or having things thrown at them (50 per cent).
The survey involved 1,250 staff in UK state schools, and 45 per cent of them said that they believed behaviour in classrooms had gotten worse over the last two years.
Among the incidents reported by secondary staff, a teacher in Suffolk said they had been “sprayed in the face with deodorant”, a teacher from Yorkshire said a pupil had “thrown stones at my house”, while a teacher in Lancashire said they had been “tripped in the corridor”.
One support staff member at a secondary school in Cheshire said they had been hit by a thrown chair, while a teaching assistant, also from Cheshire, raised concerns about the “constant verbal abuse that all teaching and non-teaching staff receive on a daily basis”.
The survey also found that around 90 per cent of the teaching and support staff had dealt with challenging or disruptive pupils in the past year.
Around half of the staff said dealing with this kind of behaviour had caused them stress and anxiety, while 10 per cent have had to visit the doctor as a result.
More than a third said poor pupil behaviour has led them to consider a change of profession and over a quarter had considered a change of school.
When asked about the causes of the worsening behaviour they were seeing, many respondents in the survey blamed pupils’ home lives as well as emotional and behavioural problems.
Eight-five per cent cited a lack of boundaries at home while 78 per cent believed emotional and behavioural problems were the causes. Half of the respondents cited pupils’ having mental health issues as being the cause.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL, said: “Although the majority of pupils are well-behaved and a pleasure to teach, having to deal with challenging or disruptive behaviour is unfortunately par for the course for education staff.
“It is shocking that more than four in 10 education professionals have had to deal with physical violence from a pupil in the last year. No member of staff should be subjected to aggressive behaviour, in any form, while doing their job.
“A lack of funds for social services and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) means pupils are at risk and, all too often, school staff are being left to plug the gaps in social care as best they can.
“Many schools do excellent work day-in, day-out, to help pupils stay on track and to keep schools a safe place for pupils and staff. But schools need support from social and health services and parents to deal with the complex issues many pupils face due to chaotic home lives or mental health issues.
“Schools need firm and consistent discipline policies in place and support from parents to ensure they support pupils the best they can.”