“I felt pretty prepared coming into the school, but I don’t I think I was quite prepared for the frequent instances of violence,” he said.
Priestley recalled a time where he intervened after a child had thrown a chair through a glass window, causing it to shatter.
“I was hoping that me being a new face in that situation would help,” he said.
“It didn’t, it led to a chair being thrown at me… and I ended up getting square kicked in the sternum.”
By October half term, Priestley had handed in his resignation.
“There was nothing more that I felt I could do, and I felt like I was really failing in my job as a teacher because I was unable to really do anything,” he said.
“I wanted to be able to go in every day and teach, and most of the time I felt more like I was managing a bad situation.”
Since leaving the school, Priestley said while he has not been put off teaching completely, he has decided to take a break.
“I didn’t leave because I didn’t care,” he said.
“I cared deeply about the welfare of the children that were in my care – I do worry a lot about about their welfare.”