A TEACHER had a knee-cap kicked off and another had ribs broken in separate assaults by pupils, a new report shows.

Analysis of compensation payments to Scottish school and college staff last year also revealed one teacher was left with injuries to their lower back and hip after a flying kick from a pupil.

Overall, compensation of more than £450,000 was paid out to teachers who were assaulted by pupils or injured in slips and trips in 2016/17.

Payouts for incidents of violence in the classroom made up £76,877 of the total of £469,758 secured by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) teaching union.

The highest single payment of £220,000 went to a teacher who slipped and fell on a wet floor in a dark corridor, suffering a fractured hip and other serious injuries.

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS general secretary, said many of the incidents would have been avoidable if appropriate health and safety procedures had been followed.

He said: "The EIS will always pursue appropriate compensation for injuries suffered at work and our desire is to eventually report a zero figure for compensation in the future due to the elimination of these types of work-related injuries.

"This year's figure of over £450,000 in compensation demonstrates there is still a long way to go towards the aim of eliminating workplace injuries in our schools, colleges and universities.

"These environments will never be entirely risk-free, but it is essential that all facilities are as safe as possible for learners and staff alike. The most common cause of injuries continues to be accidents such as slips, trips and falls."

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said it was extremely worrying to see so many incidents of serious violence in schools.

She said: "Pupils, however young, who think this kind of behaviour is acceptable have to be removed from the classroom for the safety of teachers and fellow children.

"If we don’t clamp down on this now, it will become even more difficult to attract professionals into this industry."

Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party described the figures as "deeply troubling".

“Any kind of violence in schools is clearly unacceptable and should not happen," he said.

“Such acts will only deter more people from going into teaching, which is already enduring a staffing crisis. Teachers deserve our respect and thanks - not violence in the workplace.”

Details from the compensation report show one teacher was awarded £12,452 and had to undergo an operation after a pupil lashed out and kicked their kneecap off.

Another teacher was granted compensation of £45,000 for injuries to the ribs after being repeatedly punched and kicked by a pupil, while another was given a payout of £17,125 after receiving a "flying kick" that left them with injuries to the lower back and hip.

One union member received £2,300 after suffering headaches, sleep disturbance and panic attacks as a result of a parent shouting and swearing in their face.

A teacher on a school trip was awarded £31,000 after falling in a car park, and another secured £20,000 as a result of becoming unwell due to dusty classrooms.

Compensation of £19,907 was paid to one teacher who suffered concussion after a shelf came down on their head.

A spokesman for local authority umbrella body Cosla said councils fully recognised their duty of care to staff, pupils and other workers within their facilities.

He said: "They take this duty of care very seriously and endeavour to make learning environments as safe as possible for all.

"Whilst any incident is one too many it would be wrong not to look at the overall figures in context and the number of incidents remain relatively small.

"No working environments will ever be absolutely risk free despite the best efforts to make them so. And I would stress again that councils do their best to make learning environments as safe as possible."