Scots teachers warned over stopping playground fights

The teacher was accidentally hit in the mouth by a pupil after stepping in to stop a fight in a Glasgow secondary school. When she asked Glasgow City Council to help her pay the £2,500 bill for dental work required, her request was refused.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) has now written to all of its Glasgow members, and plans to write to all members in Scotland, instructing them to think twice before stepping in.  

"We strongly think teachers should be having a calm conversation with their local authority before someone is injured, so they can decide what to do," said SSTA's general secretary Ann Ballinger. "It might mean that teachers get help before intervening, but I can't envisage a situation where a teacher would not intervene if a child is at risk of physical harm."

According to the SSTA Glasgow City Council will not compensate any financial loss resulting from medical injury unless proven negligent.

But a council spokeswoman said that all claims for compensation are judged by their own "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 and pupils very seriously," she added.