Teaching staff need more protection in classroom

The stabbing of supply teacher Vincent Uzomah by a student at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford earlier this month came just weeks after education unions warned that their members needed better protection from violence in the classroom.

Last month, the annual conference of the teachers’ union NASUWT Scotland heard that teachers are being left unacceptably exposed to violence and aggression from pupils in the classroom. And public services union UNISON warned the government that challenging behaviour from pupils is on the increase. It urged the government to better protect school caretakers, cleaners, dinner ladies, classroom assistants and other support staff from violent attacks.

The latest incident occurred just over a year after languages teacher Ann Maguire was stabbed to death by a 15-year-old student at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Halton Moor, Leeds at the end of April 2014.

UNISON has published a new guide, Managing difficult behaviour in schools, written by behaviour consultant Tom Bennett. This aims to give staff more confidence and practical help when dealing with difficult situations.

The union has also raised its concerns over a lack of training and guidance in this area, following a survey of more than 15,000 school support staff that revealed three in five (60%) were concerned about how to deal with challenging pupil behaviour. Staff reported being subjected to verbal abuse and physical aggression on a regular basis, some of which is of a racist or sexist nature.

www.unison.org.uk/news/unison-offers-top-tips-for-tackling-difficult-behaviour-in-schools