Teachers: Crimes of Violence

(asked on 15th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support teachers who experience violence from a student (a) in early years, (b) of primary school age and (c) of secondary school age.


Answered by
Damian Hinds Portrait
Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 21st November 2023

No teacher should feel unsafe or face violence or abuse in the workplace. The Department is clear that all school employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The Department has taken decisive action to improve pupils’ behaviour and to ensure that all schools are calm, safe and supportive environments where pupils and staff can work in safety and are respected.

The Department supports head teachers in taking proportionate and measured steps to ensure good behaviour in schools. To support schools to do so, the Department has strengthened the behaviour in schools guidance, which is the primary source of help and support for schools on developing and implementing a behaviour policy that can create a school culture which has high expectations of all pupils.

The Department trusts school leaders to develop tailored policies that reflect their school’s individual contexts and needs, across all phases. This guidance outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour and the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour. The Department also backs head teachers to use exclusions when required, as a last resort. This includes using permanent exclusion where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

The Government is providing £10 million of funding for the behaviour hubs programmes to enable schools and multi academy trusts with exemplary behaviour cultures and practices to work in partnership with those that want to improve their behaviour culture.

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