A THIRD of staff at county secondary schools and nearly a quarter of those at primaries have been on the receiving end of verbal abuse from pupils.

Wiltshire County Council's education department undertook a health and safety survey of 256 school staff earlier this year.

One per cent of primary staff and five per cent of secondary staff reported physical abuse directed at them by pupils. However, 35 per cent of secondary staff and 23 per cent of primary staff said they had witnessed verbal abuse directed at staff members.

John Palmer, head of school improvement and support at the education authority, said: "The findings mirror those of national surveys carried out by the Home Office, the Health and Safety Executive and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

"We are obviously concerned about any incidents of physical or verbal aggression towards staff, and the LEA is now preparing additional guidance to minimise risks to personal safety.

"Training and advice is to be offered to staff on the strategies to control difficult situations."

He said the figures did not represent a situation of schools being out of control or a trend towards lawlessness among schoolchildren.

He said: "We are the first authority to undertake a survey like this and we do not know how we compare with others in the region.

"Also, the figures are the numbers of staff reporting incidents, not the percentage of children taking part in them.

"It may be that many of the incidents refer to the same tiny percentage of troublemakers and there are different ideas of inappropriate language."

Some headteachers reacted with surprise at the results of the survey. Colin Isted, head of Devizes School, was 'amazed' at the statistics.

He said: "I told my staff the survey was worth doing and if they had had any instances of abuse they should fill in the questionnaire. None of my teachers and only one of my support staff did, so the figures come as a great surprise to me."

Tony Cleaver, headteacher of Sheldon School, Chippenham, also denied there was any problem or growing trend in disrespect shown to staff. He said: "Our record is low for a school of our size. It happens occasionally that a pupil loses his or her temper. We monitor our exclusions and there is no growing trend."

There is a theory that behaviour patterns are well-established by the time children arrive at primary school and the organisation School Start, a joint project between the LEA and the charity Barnardos, visits children at their playgroups to nip any future problems in the bud.

School Start supervisor Alison Styles said: "Children exhibiting violent behaviour are referred to us and we will go into the family home and discuss with parents how the behaviour has developed.

"Domestic violence is often at the root while poor speech and language can result in frustration leading to tantrums."

Studley Green Primary School, in Trowbridge, has found an 'emotional literacy' project is paying dividends.

Headteacher Steve Wigley explained: "We quickly realised that some children have other things on their minds 'Will Mum be home?', 'Will I get hit?' and you begin to understand why they are feeling cross or worried.

"We set up 'circle time', a structured process in which children sit in a circle and describe themselves. It develops speaking and listening skills and helps the children express themselves."

The school believes improvements in behaviour in the past three years stem from the assertive discipline initiative brought in by Mr Wigley. It involves a rising tariff of sanctions, culminating in one or two days' exclusion, which pupils can expect if they don't toe the line.