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A survey of 1,995 teachers has found that 80% had been the victim of bullying in the last year.

An unnamed teacher has described to Sky News how they suffered bullying by the school's head whose criticism made her "live in fear".

When you hear about bullying in school, it's natural for your first thought to be about pupils. Yet there are countless cases of bullying amongst staff.

I know this only too well - having experienced it for several years. It's only now it's stopped that I am able to take stock and really think about what I went through.

I began my teaching career as a supply teacher. I had been working in a primary school on an extended contract, on supply and maternity cover.

I had enjoyed my time there, so when I was offered a permanent role, I was happy to accept.

I soon settled into the school and continued to find it a pleasant place to work. Sadly, that all changed towards the end of my first year as a permanent member of staff.

I can't quite pinpoint exactly what I first noticed, but I started to see a very toxic culture within the school. Most of this negativity and bullying was driven by the headteacher.

She would suddenly turn on people for seemingly no reason, and before I knew it, it was me who was in the firing line.

Her behaviour was erratic and essentially a process of attrition. She would make rude and derogatory comments, or shout at you in the corridor.

She would often make disparaging remarks in front of other colleagues, or even worse, the children. She didn't seem to care who witnessed her poor conduct - it was almost as if she felt everyone was too frightened to challenge her. Sadly, I think she was right.

I also faced her overly-critical approach to my work. She would find the slightest thing, no matter how small or insignificant, and use it against me.

I lived in fear of being subjected to her criticism. I have confidence in my abilities as a teacher, but I was so worried about her finding fault in something I had done that I would overstretch myself to make sure there was nothing she could pick on.

It's a habit I still can't get out of, and it's exhausting. I never feel fully able to relax.

To make matters worse, the culture she was creating filtered down into the senior management team. It was almost as if they wanted to deflect any attention away from themselves, and not become her next victim.

Bullying by colleagues forcing teachers out of profession

Teachers are being shouted at, verbally abused and having their work criticised in front of others by headteachers and colleagues.

It made working there almost unbearable. And it wasn't just me who was suffering - there were plenty of colleagues who were also being victimised.

Teachers started to leave the school to escape, but I was determined I wasn't going to be pushed out of the place I had once loved.

One particular incident that has stayed with me was her treatment of me when I was diagnosed with an SpLD (Specific Learning Difficulty).

It started when I was refused my pay increment. Her grounds for refusal were based on her opinion of some of my behaviour. This made me feel self-conscious, and question myself.

I was eventually diagnosed with an SpLD. I underwent a needs assessment and a number of recommendations were made to help me manage my condition at work.

But the head almost refused to believe my diagnosis, and made me jump through so many hoops to prove it to her. It felt like it was all about her need to have complete control of any situation.

Outside of work I was suffering with sleepless nights due to the stress and worry.

The bullying went on for four years, and only ended when the headteacher retired. I remember the day I heard the news. I felt such a wave of relief and joy that the situation was coming to an end, I cried.

I have never cried in front a class before but I was overcome with emotion.

After she left, there was a huge improvement.

I'm trying to move on, and find a way to process what took place over those years. I hope that by bringing these issues to light, we can encourage more dialogue about bullying and help victims to realise it's not their fault and they are not alone.