Half of the teachers polled said they had been victims of physical violence at school. (CBC)

Eighty-five per cent of teachers in Quebec's French school system have endured some form of violence from their students, a poll released by one of the biggest teachers unions suggests.

Eighty-five per cent of those teachers have been victims of psychological violence, including intimidation, threats and harassment, according to the poll commissioned by the Independent Federation of Teachers.

Half the teachers who've experienced violence say it was physical, and seven per cent of these were left with injuries, the poll indicates.

Only 21 per cent of the teachers polled said they had received sufficient training to deal with violence in the classroom.

The Léger Marketing poll surveyed 2,082 members of the Independent Federation of Teachers between Feb. 1 and March 1. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.06 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The results of the poll were a surprise even to the president of the union, which represents 30,000 teachers in regions across the province.

"We knew that this problem existed but not at this level," Pierre St-Germain said.

Kindergarten teacher Isabelle Senécal said she has experienced violence from her students.

"I got hit in my tummy many times with the fist or the feet, I was slapped or punched in the face. Some kids spit on me.

She said part of the problem is a lack of resources to deal with students who have special needs.

When she had classes of 20 students, Senécal said, she often had one or two children with behavioural problems.

"You feel so much stress, you don't know what to do."

Since the size of her class has been reduced to 13, the situation has improved.

St-Germain said this is proof teachers need more resources to help back them up.

"We need psychologists, social workers, all kinds of professionals who can accompany the child," he said.

Different story in English schools

The province's public-sector unions are now in negotiations with the government for the renewal of their collective agreements.

Teachers in the English school system have not reported experiencing violence on the same scale.

"I have never seen and certainly never in this school, any violence," said Westmount High School teacher Brenda Bourdeau. "To disrespect a teacher to that level is unheard of."

At Bourdeau's school, one in four students is a so-called "coded" child, with a behavioural, intellectual or physical disability. But teachers have the resources to cope with their students needs, she said.

"We meet regularly, we speak about the students — what works best for the students," she said.

The Ministry of Education did not return calls for comment.