Occupational Violence and Aggression in Schools

A recent investigation by TES has revealed a sharp rise in incidents of occupational violence and aggression in schools across England.

Multi-academy trusts have reported significant increases in unsafe incidents that have led to injury for both staff and students, in some cases rising more than tenfold over the past five years. Both primary and secondary schools are affected, and teachers surveyed said they were experiencing more physical abuse and threats than ever before.

While some of this increase could be seen to reflect better and more consistent reporting, the overall picture is clear: schools are facing growing challenges around safety, and the risks to staff and students alike are becoming more acute. What matters is how we practically support schools to ensure they have a toolkit of strategies that reduce risk and protect the whole school community.

By embedding a culture of safety, teaching essential self-regulation skills, strengthening relationships, and equipping staff with the tools and strategies they need, we can work together to reverse these trends and ensure schools are places of trust, respect and safety.

Understanding the function of behaviour

The TES findings shed light on the rise in incidents, but the numbers alone don’t explain why this is happening.

Heightened or distressed behaviours rarely appear out of nowhere. They may be the result of unmet needs, communication barriers, or pressures outside school that manifest during the day. The report also alludes to the legacy of the pandemic, rising poverty and social deprivation, and cuts to wider social services, suggesting that all have played a role in the rise in occupational violence and aggression.

Unsafe incidents are a clear signal that something isn’t working for a child or young person. While we need to carefully consider how we respond to keep everyone safe after incidents, we must also consider why we are seeing the behaviour. This is not to excuse or condone it, but to better understand the wider context that led to it.

Recognising the reasons behind behaviour better enables schools to take a proactive, preventative stance, actively de-escalating situations before they reach crisis point to keep everyone safe.