A FIFTH class teacher was struck twice in the face by a pupil in her class, the congress was told. The boy's father later explained to the teacher that the second blow was struck "to emphasise his point".
As congress discussed the problem of children with "challenging behaviour", delegates were also told of an infant teacher who was the victim of an orchestrated stone throwing campaign after she reprimanded fourth class pupils.
"Day to day reality in the schools clearly indicates a growing number of children presenting serious social, emotional and behavioural problems," said Mr Brendan Taaffe, Dublin North West. He said the situation was becoming "intolerable".
Calling for special units to deal with the needs of such children, Mr Taaffe said there was a "parallel" fall out for both teachers and fellow pupils when a child became disruptive.
But there was disagreement about the use of such units. Ms Maire Ni Bheileachair, a teacher counsellor, said that instead of locking children up, the teacher counsellor scheme should be extended so every school in the State could have access to the service.