Laois schools see 64% increase in physical assault of staff

New figures obtained from the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act, show a 64% increase in the number of teachers and SNAs who had to take leave of absence following assaults in schools.

404 teachers and SNAs had to take leave of absence due to assaults in 2024.  97% of the assaults, or 391 cases, took place in the country's primary schools.  106 primary school teachers and 285 special needs assistants took leave in 2024. 

Above: recent findings from the INTO on assault leave.

"There is a huge number of new special classes that have opened, and there are still a lot of students with additional needs in mainstream schools. 

"We have children that we know need play therapy and occupational therapy, and they are not getting it. They then kick off in schools," Ms Fleming said.

"Covid had a massive impact, it caused many children to miss their crucial developmental checks. They have issues that would have been picked up in schools, and there are children unable to access the therapies they need," Ms Fleming said.

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"There are therapist positions to be filled, and there is a huge percentage of newly qualified therapists that are getting on planes and leaving for Australia, where they will find better working conditions. 

"We are qualified to teach, we are not qualified as occupational therapists, but we are having to deal with all of these issues," she said.

The INTO survey shows the challenges facing teachers in classrooms but also a deeper crisis in therapeutic and mental health services for children and families across the country.

Of the 440 participants who took part in the survey, 255 of those in the survey reported being physically assaulted but only 6% registered for 'assault leave'.  

Pictured: The three special schools in the Midlands.

Ms Fleming explained that any training that school staff receive on reacting to incidents of violence, is purely on a local level.

"Last month, our school held an in-service after school session on how to deal with dangers of physical threat, and how to protect other children," she said.

"Our board of management paid for this through a private company. We were lucky that we had the money in the kitty to pay for this, while not all schools would. It should be the Department of Education that provide this training," she said.

The Department of Education have stated that they have established a working group to develop guidelines for schools on the prevention and management of behaviours that challenge, where such behaviour poses imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others within the school environment.

"In schools, the board of management is the employer of teachers and other school staff. The board of management is responsible for the health and safety of staff. The department does not employ teachers or special needs assistants in schools," a Department official said.

"The Leave of Absence following Assault Scheme does not cover the medical costs of Individuals who availed of the Scheme. The department has not paid any compensation to individuals who availed of the Leave of Absence following Assault Scheme from 2022-2024, as the department is not the employer."

"The frightening reality is that our schools have become the de facto mental health and therapeutic service providers for children, a role for which they are neither designed, equipped nor funded," they finished.