Almost 400 teachers were questioned by Professor Andy Phippen earlier this year, who discovered parents were responsible for more than a quarter of the bullying, writes Lucy Sherriff at the Huffington Post.

“Everyone acknowledges this is a problem and something needs to be done about it, but schools lack support. It is a sticky area as some of the things posted may not be considered illegal,” he told the Huffington Post UK.

“If you have a member of staff feeling isolated or depressed, which are often the symptoms of bullying, they will turn to senior management.

“I heard of one case where a teacher told his employers about the bullying and not only did they tell other members to staff to ignore this teacher, they also suspended him. Their reasoning was ‘there is no smoke without fire’.”

Some 377 professionals were surveyed and 35 helpline cases analyzed. The results showed 35 per cent of participants said either they or their colleagues had been subjected to some form of online abuse.

The majority of the abuse – 72% – came via pupils but over a quarter was initiated by parents. The majority of teachers claiming online abuse were women, according to the BBC’s analysis of the research.

Phippen said:

“The parental statistics were particularly surprising. Schools are definitely playing down the severity of the issue, whether it’s because they just don’t realise, or because they don’t know how to deal with it.”

In one case, a head teacher described a 12-month abuse campaign by a parent at her school who used the internet to post potentially libelous untruths about her practices.

“I eventually had a mini breakdown in the summer holiday and needed an emergency doctor to be called out- as I had become suicidal. I had intensive support from the mental health unit via my GP,” the unnamed teacher reported in the study.

Phippen is calling for a nationwide support network to deal with the problem.

“I think coordination and consistency in this area would be incredibly helpful. Schools are giving knee-jerk reactions to a complex issue which needs addressing.”

A spokesperson for the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said any of their members affected by the cyberbullying should consult their guidelines.

The union released the guidance for their members last year, providing a brief on how to stay ‘Cybersafe’. The document details more than 10 dos and don’ts including:

• You should not post information and photos about yourself publicly you wouldn’t want colleagues, pupils or parents to see

• You should not befriend pupils on social networking sites

• You should not personally retaliate to any incident

The NUT also advises their members to contact their local association or division should they feel subject to any form or degree of cyberbullying.

Phippen added:

“We live in a society where we expect teachers to be subjected to this abuse. It simply is not acceptable. We wouldn’t let a child verbally abuse a teacher in the playground – why should it be allowed to happen online?”

The Department for Education declined to comment.