Report: Violence towards teaching assistants in the UK

The research was commissioned to help establish guidelines for schools on how to help staff after a 2016 UNISON survey that found 53% of teaching and classroom assistants across England, Wales and Northern Ireland had experienced physical violence in the last year, 53% verbal threats and 60% other forms of verbal abuse.

Participants experienced physical injuries as well as profound psychological impacts, with some authorised medical leave following stress, anxiety and depression.

The report recommendations for good practice following a violent incident include:

Every incident of student violence or aggression towards school staff should be reported and logged.

The student immediately separated from the staff member, who should be given a safe space (or sent home) to recover, and  not be expected to continue working with the student until a resolution has been completed.

• Staff members to be encouraged to seek a medical check-up following a violent incident.
• Statements to be taken and an independent investigation undertaken.
• Avoid making blaming or accusatory comments towards the victimised staff member.
• Restorative practice to be implemented where appropriate to enable closure for staff member and student.
• Psychological/counselling support to be made available.
• Staff members to be encouraged to take leave on full pay if they have physical or psychological injuries as a result.

Schools should:

• Invest in and value the role of teaching/classroom assistants
• Establish a fund for training/courses for support staff to help keep them safe.
• Support staff to contribute to processes for both preventing violence and following an incident.
• Change any culture that enables ‘us and them’ divisions between teaching and support staff.
• Provide whole-school training on how to respond to student aggression and violence towards all staff members.
• Develop a clear and unambiguous whole-school policy on student violence produced in collaboration with all stakeholders.
• While restraint techniques are not necessarily appropriate or effective, if restraint techniques are to be used, then the whole school should be trained in using them.