Dealing with abusive visitors in schools: policies

What to include in your policy

• Examples of behaviour that you consider unacceptable or abusive. This includes on the premises, over the phone or by email
• How you will deal with this behaviour. For example:
• How staff will minimise a visitor's frustration 
• The stages you will follow such as starting with a verbal warning
• What you will do following an incident, for example seeking medical attention for any injuries or contacting the police
• The steps that you will take when imposing a ban on someone from the school premises

Some policies also include appendices with template letters that the school will send or a template incident report form (see below). 

Read more guidance about dealing with abusive or aggressive visitors, including template letters.

Primary school examples 

• Sandgate Primary School in Kent has a policy on managing abusive parents. It includes a model incident report form on pages 9 to 10
• St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in Slough has a policy under 'Other' on managing aggressive behaviour from parents and visitors. It includes template letters in the appendix

Secondary school examples

• Monk’s Walk School in Hertfordshire has a policy on dealing with abusive parents. It includes information on imposing a ban
• Blackfen School for Girls in Bexley has a policy on dealing with abusive behaviour by a visitor. It includes procedures for dealing with abuse in person, on the phone and by email

Special school example

• Abbey Court Foundation Special School in Medway has adopted a local authority policy on managing violent and abusive visitors in schools. It includes guidance on assessing risks to staff and suggests offering personal safety training