The aim of the study was to evaluate the scale of various forms of child abuse and teachers’ skills to recognise them. Teachers, thanks to many-hour, everyday contacts with children, have an opportunity of early intervention, and that is why the authors focused on this occupational group. They decided to evaluate whether teachers were prepared to recognise the Battered Child Syndrome, undertook prophylactic activities, and were prepared to help abused children.

The study covered 141 primary school teachers from Lublin and its surroundings. The symptoms of neglect of a child’s existential and emotional needs were most frequently observed. About 50% of teachers had contact with pupils who were psychologically and physically abused by their parents, and 12% of respondents had contact with children who were sexually abused. The most frequently observed basis of child abuse are social pathologies (alcoholism, family conflicts, incomplete family), less frequently - mental disorders or excessive parents’ ambitions.

The teachers generally declared the need of special training to be able to recognise the Battered Child Syndrome, to intervene and to undertake prophylactic activities.