FALSE allegations by pupils have left a Worcestershire teacher feeling "vulnerable," as students "twist things that are said".

Her comment comes as a survey revealed more than one in five school staff have had a false allegation made against them by a pupil.

A further seven per cent said they have faced untrue claims from a student's parent or family member.

These incorrect allegations are blighting careers and putting added stress onto education workers, according to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), which conducted the poll.

The anonymous state secondary teacher in Worcestershire said: "After 22 years in teaching I feel very vulnerable now, as pupils twist things that are said and make serious comments - they do not see the serious manner of their allegation when in fact it is their behaviour we are challenging."

The survey found 22 per cent said they had faced an erroneous allegation made by a pupil and 14.3 per cent had seen claims raised by a pupil's parent or other family member.

More than a third of those polled (37.7 per cent) said someone in their current school or college had seen an untrue allegation made against them by a student.

Asked what happened as a result of the most recent allegation they faced, 49.5 per cent said the claim had been dismissed, 30.2 per cent said they continued working while it was investigated, 5.7 per cent said they had been suspended and 4.2 per cent were subject to disciplinary action.

In a separate question, 7.5 per cent of the 187 people who responded said the police had been notified of a claim against them.

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "It is only right and proper that children are protected and their welfare and safety must always come first, but the balance needs to be right so that teachers, heads and support staff do not suffer unnecessarily when false allegations are made against them.

"Schools and colleges need to recognise that young people sometimes make up allegations - they may be angry, under stress, suffering problems at home or have a host of other reasons - and take this into account when investigating them.

"All schools and colleges need to have clear, timely and fairly administered policies to investigate allegations against staff.

"And they need to make sure innocent staff receive the support and protection they need so that their careers and lives are not irretrievably damaged by a false allegation."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We understand the variety of pressures teachers face, which is why through our plan for education we have taken a number of measures to support them.

"We recognise the extreme damage which can be caused to teachers who have false allegations made against them, which is why we have made clear to schools and colleges that staff should be supported throughout, and are able to return to focusing their energies on teaching as swiftly as possible."