THE only correspondence parents used to have with schools was the note excusing little Johnny from PE.

In today's litigious climate, schools are as likely to receive a legal writ in their correspondence from Johnny's mother and father, seeking damages of thousands of pounds.

Former pupils Caroline Newby and Jamie Bright may have lost their claim for damages at Teesside County Court yesterday, but the prospect of litigation has not gone away.

The pair, who launched an action for compensation after they were bullied at Shotton Hall Comprehensive, in Peterlee, County Durham, said afterwards they had no regrets in bringing the case.

Reports of companies offering tempting no-win, no-fee representation has increased the burden on headteachers, and particularly unpaid governors, to protect themselves from compensation-seeking parents and their children.

Mike O'Brien, deputy headteacher at Ormesby School, in Middlesbrough, said: "I've taken lots of children to hospital over the years. Now, when you go, you find the waiting room full of leaflets advertising solicitors offering no-win, no-fee deals. Schools have enough on their plates without having to worry about that."

Mr O'Brien said most schools have good working relationships with parents, which means grievances hardly ever reach the stage of going before a judge. But the fear is always there.

"In terms of school visits and trips, I get the impression from speaking to colleagues that they are becoming more and more reluctant to take pupils away," he said.

"As far as we are concerned, we try to make sure that all our policies are in place and all our staff are delivering them consistently."

But facing the prospect of legal action can only harm a profession which is already facing a recruitment crisis.

Richard Appleton, headteacher of Eastbourne School, Darlington, said: "I think it has a significant effect on staff because it means they are aware that an act, which they may have carried out in the past to help a student, may now be misinterpreted or misconstrued, and they could find themselves the subject of legal action.

"It also means that teachers think long and hard about whether they will volunteer for out-of-school work, such as outdoor pursuits, which children have always enjoyed in our schools.

"It would be terrible if teachers were to stop doing things like that for fear they might end up in court."

Paul Harrison, headteacher at Teesdale School, Barnard Castle, County Durham, said: "It is a concern that the more litigation cases that are successful, the more difficult it will become for schools.

"We are already bound by endless regulations to do with school visits and trips, and the danger is that the education of children could actually start to suffer because you have to think so much more about litigation.

"I think common sense has got to prevail and I would hope that with any case which gets to court, the judge would show some common sense.

"Fortunately, these cases are rare - but there is a real danger they may escalate."