Shropshire Star

Shropshire teachers face threat of violence from pupils aged 11 and under

Teachers and school staff in Shropshire have been attacked by children under 11 more than 600 times in the past three years, new figures released today reveal.

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The shocking statistics reveal almost 90 per cent of classroom attacks happen in the county's primary schools.

Teachers and support staff have been subjected to physical violence on 636 occasions by children in primary schools.

  • See also: Star comment: Shocking violence in schools

Secondary schools in the county have reported 82 physical attacks on staff over the last three years.

The figures were obtained from Telford & Wrekin Council and Shropshire Council and relate to the last three academic years.

Teaching unions today said they were not surprised by the figures and claimed the real number was much higher because teachers were reluctant to report attacks.

One Shropshire teacher, who did not wish to be named but works in a Telford school, said: "It is so difficult because it comes down to a judgement call. Pupils can have a range of issues that come from home and teachers have to deal with these in the classroom, as well as the rest of the pupils."

The issue hit the national headlines after 16-year-old Will Cornick stabbed and murdered Leeds teacher Ann Maguire, 61. He stabbed her seven times in the back and neck at Corpus Christi Catholic College, then sat down and said "good times".

Teacher unions today said the figures vastly underestimated the problem in Shropshire.

Christine Hargest, teacher representative for the county branch of the National Union of Teachers, said violence in schools is "not something teachers talk about".

Figures obtained by the Shropshire Star under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that teachers and staff in both secondary and primary schools have been physically or verbally abused a total of 752 times in the past three academic years.

"These figures are not shocking to us and they probably don't include all incidents," Ms Hargest said.

"Essentially the real problem is that it is not something that people talk about because people often feel that when it happens it is to do with their management of the situation and very often it is not.

"People don't like disclosing it as they thought it would be a black mark on the whole school."

In the classroom, a teacher is not be allowed to restrain or touch a violent child unless another pupil is in danger or property is likely to be damaged.

The outcome of violence could mean the pupil is excluded temporarily or permanently, which then leads to a host of other agencies becoming involved.

Ms Hargest added: "The other point is the only defence you have in a classroom is your voice. "If you touch a child you are out of order.

In Shropshire the vast majority of attacks come from pupils in primary schools.

Unions claim their members say many parents do not instil sound moral values in their children and they arrive in school at an early age with a lack of respect for adults.A DfE spokesman said: "Violent behaviour in schools is totally unacceptable. We have taken decisive action to give teachers the powers they need to tackle poor behaviour and discipline.

"We have been clear to schools that they should scrap no-touch rules that stopped teachers removing disruptive pupils from classrooms, introduced no-notice detentions and new search powers, and ensured schools' decisions on expulsions can no longer be overruled.

"Our measures are working – official figures show that the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions have fallen dramatically since 2010.

"Parents should also be clear of their own responsibilities to support their child's education and back the school's decisions. Threats or abuse from parents are never acceptable and may constitute criminal offences."

Emily Knightley, of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "We work closely with all our schools to provide appropriate strategies for dealing with behaviour that goes beyond what is acceptable in a classroom.

"Each school has its own individual policy for responding and reporting incidents but we ensure that these are reported centrally to make sure we have an accurate picture of the situation."

Shropshire Council was not available for comment.

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