There has been an “alarming” rise in the number of assaults on teachers, including three attacks by parents on primary school headteachers.
A total of 84 assaults – including four on headteachers – took place in Cardiff in the 12 months up to September, up from 64 in the previous year.
The situation has been branded as “totally unacceptable” by the Wales branch of the National Union of Teachers.
The figures were revealed by Cardiff council ’s cabinet member in charge of education, Sarah Merry, in response to a written question from Lib Dem councillor Joe Boyle.
They also showed three headteachers were assaulted by parents of primary school pupils in the city.
Parents banned from schools
In her reply, Coun Merry said: “Four of the reports received were for an assault or intimidating behaviour against headteachers, with one from a primary aged pupil and three from parents in primary schools.
“In each of these cases involving parents, the governing body has decided to ban the parent from entering the school for a set period of time to safeguard staff.”
Penylan’s Coun Boyle said: “It is an alarming year-on-year blip. We want to know what’s caused that leap and what the council is doing to counter it.
“I am not sure the answer I received suggested there was a great deal being done to analyse that.”
Stress 'disproportionately high among teachers'
He also suggested schools were often under extreme pressure not to exclude pupils where that was the only viable option and questioned whether there was enough support provided to teachers dealing with challenging pupils.
Owen Hathway, NUT Cymru Policy Officer, said people would be shocked by the number of assaults on school staff.
“These figures are both alarming and totally unacceptable,” he added.
“I am sure anyone reading these figures will be shocked at the abuse some teachers encounter. Teaching is already an extremely challenging job. We know that stress-related illnesses are already disproportionately high among teachers as a result of the unsustainable workloads they are expected to manage.
Calls for more to be done to protect teachers
“Being a teacher in an environment where you are susceptible to physical and verbal attacks makes that challenge even harder.
“Of course the majority of teachers will have confidence that they are operating in a safe environment. However, for those that do encounter such abuse it is not an easy thing to overcome.
“Physical or verbal attacks of this nature often lead to a loss of confidence in the classroom with some teachers considering their long-term futures in the profession. We must ensure that everything possible is being done to ensure that teachers are protected from this sort of behaviour in the first instance, but also that they are supported when something does take place.”
He also said parents should take greater responsibility for their own behaviour and should support school interventions involving their children.
Safety of staff of 'utmost importance'
Coun Merry insisted the numbers had risen because the authority had contacted schools to remind them of the policy for reporting such incidents.
She said: “It is always deeply concerning when a member of staff is put in harm’s way and thankfully such instances are relatively low when you consider the overall number of pupils taught in the city’s schools, with the vast majority behaving impeccably.
“It is important that we have a clear picture of what is happening in our schools and we have worked with them to improve reporting. This has seen an increase in the numbers for the last 12 months when compared with previous years.
“The safety of staff in our schools is of the utmost importance and support mechanisms are in place to help the victims of assault.”
see- http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/alarming-rise-teacher-assaults-across-10507887
No comments:
Post a Comment