Pupils 'cyber-bullying teachers'

The Government's plans for schools to give parents online reports on their children's progress risk making such "cyber-bullying" of staff worse, according to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

The union warned that children are videoing teachers and other pupils in class and bombarding them with abusive messages, or posting insults on social networking websites.

It will take a decade before reforms giving teachers a legal right to confiscate children's mobile phones make an impact on behaviour in the classroom, ATL officials said.

Speaking at the union's annual conference in Torquay, ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: "The internet and mobile phones are here to stay.

"The most important thing is that it is clearly understood by everyone that the abuse of teachers by phones or networking sites or email is a serious offence."

She continued: "When the Government talks about online reporting they have got this view that parents want virtually continual engagement so that if their child's heart skips a beat someone will know about it.

"It's not just students who can behave inappropriately, it's also parents. I can well imagine occasions where parents send abusive emails to teachers because John has got an E in his history essay."

Matt Whittaker, an ATL member from Burleigh College in Leicestershire, said pupils were also increasingly at risk of exposure to inappropriate material in the playground.

"An area I am very aware of, due to it affecting my own children, is pornography on phones and the ease of file sharing," he said.