Brisbane primary school teacher reveals shock violence in classroom

A Brisbane primary school teacher has outlined the shock rise of violence in her classrooms ... and the even more shocking failure of the people supposed to help her.

Katherine is thinking about leaving teaching after only a few years in the job. Picture: Photo Steve Pohlner

A Brisbane primary school teacher has laid bare the shocking reality of life in the classroom, describing how she’s been punched, scratched and watched on as chairs are thrown through windows by children as young as five.

Katherine - who has used a pseudonym and asked us to protect her identity - has been teaching for just a few years but is already considering a career change. She says things are so bad at her school that she’s had to create a safe word for her and her tiny pupils to use when troubled classmates turn aggressive.

“When the kids hear this word they know no matter what we need to leave, I’ve used it 12-15 times this school year,” she said.

Katherine says her school discourages suspensions so strict KPIs are not compromised.

“I get them to safety and then wait while a kid is inside destroying my classroom.,”

Katherine said the lack of consequences for violent students has caused her to feel “unsafe and on edge”, with her school discouraging suspensions to meet strict KPIs and to not get

a “bad rep in the media”.

Katherine said she would not be surprised if the Department of Education was presented with a class-action lawsuit in coming decades for teachers left traumatised by students.

“I was recently punched in the stomach trying to stop one student from harming another,” Katherine said.

“I’ve seen one kid punch another in the mouth, so hard it knocked some teeth out.

“I have permanent scarring on my body from multiple students continuously scratching me and drawing blood.

“Colleagues have suffered gigantic dark bruising from rocks being thrown on their body and one now has hearing problems from ongoing screeching. She’s gone deaf from the screams being so frequent and high pitched.

Katherine says she feels defeated and admits she was not adequately prepared coming out of university for the realities of teaching.

“At uni I did a student management course and we learnt about placing desks in the best format for collaboration - that was it,” Katherine said.

“It is extremely frustrating that behaviours are barely addressed at all, the guidelines are very grey.”

Katherine said aggressive behaviour was becoming more prevalent, with other students observing the lack of consequences.

She criticised her school’s “behaviour matrix,” which she described as vague and ineffective.

“We are instructed to call the office to have the child removed, but there are times my calls weren’t answered, and I was left dealing with an assault,” Katherine said.

“I don’t know what to do, and my colleagues don’t either,” she said.

Katherine said she didn’t have an answer as to why teachers were reporting higher rates of violence in the classroom.

“It’s hard to put a finger on but I can always tell which children have an addiction to their iPads,” Katherine said.

“I can see when kids are becoming bored every two seconds and becoming dysregulated that can lead to outbursts.”

The teacher says it is easy to spot a child who is addicted to their devices. Picture: istock

Katherine said she didn’t believe parents knew the full extent of what was happening in classrooms and what well-behaved children were being exposed to.

“I wish they knew the full scale of what is happening because they would be outraged and changes will only be made if parents complain to the department and their principal,” Katherine said.

“In what other workplace could someone punch you in the face and you’d still have to see them the next day?

“A little person spitting or throwing a chair in your face is still the same spit and chair hitting your face,” she said.

“I love teaching and I want to continue but I’m conscious of my health and the toll teaching takes on my body,” she said.