£20m payout as the blame culture hits the classroom

The record total included £20,000 for a lesbian who was refused paternity leave when her partner had a baby.

Another won £17,000 after slipping on a wet floor in a toilet while £23,000 went to a teacher sacked for using 'inappropriate' language and physical contact with pupils.

In some cases, councils paid out even though claims were said to be based on weak evidence, leaving schools losing huge sums to a burgeoning compensation culture among staff.

However, in one case, a teacher who was raped in a classroom by a 12-year-old special needs pupil received just £11,000.

Another attacked by two parents was awarded only £1,000, according to the National Union of Teachers annual report.

The lesbian teacher sued a Roman Catholic school in East London where she worked after it refused her paternity leave to assist at the birth of her partner's baby.

She was told 'her lifestyle was unacceptable and that if she did not find another job immediately, she would be dismissed'.

The NUT represented her and took action for breach of sexual orientation, paternity and adoption leave regulations.

Shortly before a tribunal was due to start, the school settled for £20,000.

But another case detailed in the report reveals the small award from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for the teacher raped during a tutorial at a special needs centre in County Durham.

The culprit, who had severe learning difficulties, drove off in her car but was caught and later jailed for life.

The rising levels of compensation could leave teachers open to charges of setting parents and pupils a poor example.

But Graham Clayton, senior solicitor for the NUT, said: "The criminal injuries tariff scheme does not necessarily in every case produce the kind of justice we think it should."

He insisted all claims backed by the NUT were 'justified'.

He said: "We make claims where people have suffered in order to remedy that loss."

Steve Sinnott, union general secretary, said: "The injuries and the injustices suffered by teachers can destroy their careers.

"They have a right to be treated fairly and protected from the dangers that can be inherent in the job."

Yesterday, the NUT also accused supermarkets and High Street stores of destroying childhood by exploiting youngsters and pressuring them to grow up too fast.

The union condemned Tesco, Asda, BHS and Next for targeting young girls with products such as pole dancing kits and 'sexually provocative clothes and make-up'.

Children were being turned into mini adults by firms seeking to profit from 'sexualising' them, it warned.

The union said a deluge of advertising and marketing included £300million a year spent trying to increase sales by targeting pupils while they were actually in school.

The NUT highlighted a sharp increase in the use of commercial materials in schools, ranging from sports equipment to computers.

"We are letting our children down," said Mr Sinnott. "Childhood should be about education and enjoyment, not exploitation and sexualisation. These things must end."