Almost a third of teachers have suffered online bullying at the hands of parents in the last year , a survey suggests . Families are using social media to post obscenities , threats , offensive photos , sexually explicit insults and even covert films of teachers . Around 30 per cent of teachers said they had been the subject of parents ’ abusive internet posts . A study of 1,500 teachers found 30 per cent have suffered online abuse by parents - and that this type of bullying is on the rise accounting for 40 per cent of all reported online insults this year . And the poll found that bullying by parents is on the rise , accounting for 40 per cent of all reported online insults this year compared to just 27 per cent last year . The survey , by teachers ’ union NASUWT , reveals a disturbing picture of how parents are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter to intimidate staff . One teacher said they had been sworn at by a parent online over a PE lesson , while a female dance teacher said she had been called a ‘ paedophile ’ for wanting to film a performance . Others said they had received insults from parents about their appearance and weight , with one told she was ugly and her ‘ husband could do better than her ’ . Of those harassed online by parents , 15 per cent had threats made against them , compared to seven per cent in 2014 . The poll also showed that the proportion of teachers suffering abuse from both parents and pupils has more than doubled over the past year . Around eight per cent saw allegations of inappropriate behaviour with students , six per cent saw videos or photos taken without consent and three per cent were told they had behaved inappropriately towards parents . The poll of 1,500 teachers also showed that the proportion of teachers suffering abuse from both parents and pupils has more than doubled over the past year – increasing from 21 per cent to 60 per cent . NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said : ‘ It is deeply worrying to see that the abuse of teachers has risen by such a huge margin this year . 'Equally concerning is that it appears that more parents are the perpetrators of the abuse. ’ He added : ‘ The vile , insulting and personal comments are taking their toll on teachers ’ health and wellbeing and undermining their confidence to do their job. ’ The survey found that many teachers had received racist , sexist and homophobic remarks online – with one teacher called a ‘ wog ’ by a pupil and others called ‘ lesbian ’ and ‘ slut ’ . And teachers said that 60 per cent of the abusive comments online had been written by pupils . Over half of the pupils responsible for abuse were aged between 14 and 16 , while 38 per cent were aged between 11 and 14 , the teachers ’ poll found . One teacher received the comment ‘ I hope she gets cancer ’ , while a heavily pregnant worker was sworn at , called ‘ fat whore ’ and ‘ ugly ’ . Another said they had been harassed for seven months by pupils who sent sexually explicit messages and set up a fake social media account in their name . A number of teachers reported pupils had used their identity to set up bogus Facebook profiles and post sexually inappropriate messages . One man only found out months afterwards and feared it could be used to ‘ smear him ’ and destroy his career . Just under a third of bullied teachers did not report the incidents to their school or to police . Mrs Keates went on to say : ‘ While there has been some improvement in action taken on reported abuse , there are still too many cases where no appropriate action is taken and teachers are being left devastated , humiliated and traumatised. ’ The union called for the next government to require schools to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to online abuse and use all sanctions available to address any bullying of staff . Some of the most disturbing examples of online abuse from parents include : . A female attacked by parents for her appearance and the size of her nose . She was told she was ‘ ugly ’ and ‘ her husband could do better ’ . Another was called ‘ rubbish ’ , with a mother incorrectly claiming that she had ‘ tried to kill her daughter ’ by making her do PE without an inhaler . A parent posted comments saying that a female dance teacher was ‘ a paedophile ’ for videoing performances . A teacher was sworn at and told he was ‘ pathetic ’ for asking a pupil to replace equipment he had broken . Family members falsely accused a teacher of having sex with pupils – making him fear for his career .
Survey found one third of teachers suffer online bullying by parents . The bullying is on the rise accounting for 40 % of all reported online insults . Survey by teaching union reveals a picture of how parents are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter to bullying staff . Further 15 per cent of teachers said they had threats made against them .