Speaking after Nottinghamshire teacher Peter Harvey was cleared of attempting to murder a student with a dumbbell, Chris Keates called on government to improve the quality of support that teachers receive.
She warned that school behaviour policies must also be reviewed, since pupils with a history of disruptive behaviour were trying to aggravate Harvey and film his reaction with a mobile phone immediately before the attack occurred.
"The incident arose out of an explosive combination of events, a teacher who was in a fragile state of health and a group of pupils who recognised this and decided to exploit it," Keates explained.
"Any teacher who has had to deal with challenging and disruptive pupils will recognise that given the combination of factors that applied in this case how such a situation can easily spiral out of control."
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