A teacher has been awarded a six-figure sum in damages after a pupil assaulted them with a toaster and a chair, a teaching union has revealed.
The incident, which saw the teacher also punched and kicked while removing the student from a classroom, resulted in injuries severe enough to require surgery, according to the NASUWT teachers’ union.
This substantial payment is part of over £15.4 million that NASUWT secured for its members in 2025.
The union stated these funds covered successful claims for unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination, personal injury, and health and safety issues. In another notable case, a six-figure out-of-court settlement was reached for a member who contracted leptospirosis due to a rat infestation at their school.
NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said: “If all employers took seriously their duty of care and legal responsibilities to their employees we would not be forced to pursue legal remedies to get redress for members.
“Behind every successfully concluded case is a teacher who has suffered months, and in some cases years, of mental distress and anxiety.
“Some members are no longer able to return to teaching due to the physical injuries they have sustained or the psychological impact of the treatment they have experienced.”
Another teacher was injured after a whiteboard that was not fixed to the wall properly fell on them, resulting in injuries that required surgery, NASUWT said.
The union brought a claim for disability discrimination, saying the teacher was denied access to a suitable toilet on returning to work, and moved to a new job role on a reduced salary.
The claim was settled after a five-figure sum was negotiated, NASUWT said.
The figures are released before NASUWT’s annual conference in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, National Education Union (NEU) members told the union’s annual conference in Brighton teachers are being kicked, punched, cornered in their classrooms and threatened.
NEU delegates voted on Wednesday for a motion calling for a national campaign to reduce violence in schools.
NASUWT found in a survey last year that more than four in five teachers felt the number of pupils exhibiting violent and abusive behaviour had increased, with two in five saying they had experienced physical abuse or violence.
