A teaching union has accused parents of 'abandoning responsibility' for their children once they have been dropped off at school.

In a survey conducted by NASUWT many staff revealed that children regularly arrive at school late, distracted by mobile phones or without homework or stationary. More than 8,000 teachers questioned also said that a lack of support from parents accounted for a large majority of disruptive behaviour within Scottish schools, The Scotsman reports.

Out of the 8,231 teaching staff questioned between February and March this year, almost half (44 per cent) said pupils do not come to school ready to learn, whilst 34 per cent blamed a lack of enforcement of school rules. 51 per cent of teachers agreed that pupils often arrived without necessary equipment and 61 per cent commented that failing to bring in homework was a major problem within schools.

NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates commented: "Teachers are not receiving the support they need from parents, school leaders or government to assist them in maintaining high standards of pupil behaviour. Too many pupils arrive at school with mobile phones, iPods and MP3 players when teachers just wish they would bring a pen. Hours of valuable teaching and learning time are clearly being lost in lessons every day through pupils not being ready to learn."

The NASUWT annual conference in Glasgow last week highlighted behavioural issues in schools with hopes of a resolution which will improve conditions for teaching staff all over the UK.

If you are worried about pupil behaviour within your school or are finding that bad behaviour is making your life stressful, you may find these links useful:

• Behaviour
• Stress - understanding stress and dealing with it
• Beyond the school gate