DES Circular 40/97
DES Circular 40/97
The Minister for Education wishes to bring to the attention
of the school authorities his concern at the increase
in the incidents of assaults on staff in primary schools.
Violence in the workplace is an issue of grave concern
for employees and employers alike. As in other workplaces,
school employees are also the victims of violence in
the workplace. During the course of their work, school
staff may be at risk from violence in the form of verbal
abuse, threats, assaults or other forms of intimidation.
This behaviour may come from pupils, parents, guardians,
other staff members or intruders.
The Minister is anxious that every effort would be
made to create and maintain a culture in schools where
acts of violence are not tolerated and when they do
occur, are effectively and speedily dealt with.
In this context, the Department of Education and Science wishes to draw the attention of boards of management to the following issues:
- the board's duty to provide a safe place to work for employees;
- measures to be taken to prevent or minimise the risk of assaults to teachers or other staff employed in schools;
- measures to be taken in support of staff who have been assaulted or threatened with assault; and
- ensuring that appropriate action is taken to safeguard against a recurrence.
1. Board's Duty to provide a Safe System of
Work
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act became operative
on 1 November 1989. It is an important piece of legislation
for boards of management and for those who work in schools,
as schools and colleges were brought under the scope
of safety legislation for the first time.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 requires
employers to ensure the safety and health of their employees.
It requires employers to draw up a Safety Statement:
- Identifying the hazards
- Assessing the risks to health and safety
- Putting in place appropriate safeguards
In the Education Sector violence should be considered
as a potential hazard and assessed accordingly and where
there is a risk to health and safety from violence appropriate
safeguards must be put in place. Account should be taken
of the specific circumstances that pertain in each school.
There should be consultation with those at risk concerning
the measures to be taken and monitoring their effectiveness.
Information should be given to staff on protection and
preventative measures which are essential.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Applications)
Regulations 1993, provides that the Health and Safety
Authority must be notified when an accident/incident
occurs in the workplace which requires treatment from
a registered medical practitioner or treatment in hospital.
An accident or incident which results in an employee
being absent from work for 3 days or more must also
be reported to the Authority.
2. Preventative Measures
Boards are urged to consider and implement measures
which would prevent or minimise the risk of assault
to the employees of the board. The effectiveness of
agreed procedures should be reviewed where necessary.
(a) External Liaison
Bearing in mind that communication between home and
school should be frequent, open and positive, boards
in consultation with the principal and staff of the
school should promote good practice for the conduct
of communication between home and school.
In this context schools should develop and circulate
to parents, policies to deal with the following matters:
Admitting parents/visitors to the school
Parents who wish to have a consultation with a class
teacher should be encouraged to make a prior appointment
with the relevant teacher. In urgent cases where a pre-arranged
appointment is not appropriate, parents should be encouraged
to report in the first instance to the school secretary/principal.
The practice of parents approaching classrooms directly
during teaching time should be discouraged. Specifically,
access to teachers should be on an "appointment
only" basis where the circumstances of a meeting
are likely to provoke confrontation.
Parent/teacher meetings
Arrangements for the conduct of formal parent teacher
meetings should be addressed in the School Plan. Parents
should be given adequate notice regarding the timing
of such meetings and encouraged to raise issues of concern.
Where sensitive issues are the subject of discussion,
arrangements should be made for conducting such interviews
in privacy. Conducting interviews at the classroom door,
while simultaneously supervising a class of children,
is not conducive to open communication. Particular care
should be taken to ensure that parent/teacher consultations
do not take place within the hearing of other pupils
and or/parents.
Code of Discipline
Under the terms of Circular 20/90 schools are requested to develop a Code of
behaviour and Discipline for Pupils. This Code should
be developed by the principal and staff in consultation
with parents and approved by the board of management.
Once finalised, this Code should be notified to parents.
Any sanction imposed on a pupil should be in accordance
with the Code of Discipline. Procedures for suspending
pupils should be clearly set out in the school's
Code of Discipline and should be adhered to.
Complaints Procedure
Boards of management should have in place a clear procedure
for the processing of potential complaints. Some Managerial
Associations have already negotiated such a procedure
with the INTO. The terms of the complaints procedure
should be notified to parents, and parents should be
encouraged to utilise stages of the procedure where
necessary.
(b) Internal Procedures
The issues of internal school procedures should also
be discussed from time to time at staff meetings. Staff
should be familiar with all relevant procedures.
In circumstances of increased risk (e.g. schools for
young offenders) training should be provided for staff:
- In identifying potentially violent situations,
and
- In calming down potentially violent situations.
Specific examination should be given to circumstances
where staff are:
- Working alone on school premises
- Working in an isolated part of the school premises
- Engaged in out of class activities
- Working with pupils with behavioural difficulties
- Engaged in home visiting
3. Steps to be followed in the event of an assault
Boards should develop a clearly defined procedure to
be implemented in the event of an assault on an employee.
This policy should include a clear commitment on the
board's part to be fully supportive of staff who
have been subject to violence.
It is accepted that judgement will have to be exercised
in each case. However, the following elements should
be included in each procedure:
a) The incident should be immediately reported
to the principal teacher/other colleague.
The details of the incident should be recorded in an
Incident Book kept for this purpose in the workplace.
Situations in which members have been intimidated or
threatened with physical violence should also be recorded.
b) Where necessary, immediate medical assistance
should be sought.
c) The matter should be reported to the Gardaí,
where appropriate. This report would normally be made
by the teacher who was assaulted.
d) The board of management should be notified
of the incident and where necessary an emergency meeting
of the board should take place. The board should notify
its legal advisors of the assault. The board’s
insurance company should also be notified.
e) Where the assault is by a pupil the matter
should be dealt with in accordance with the school's
Code of Discipline and as provided for in Rule 130(5)
of the Rules for National Schools.
f) Repeatedly aggressive pupils should be referred,
with the consent of parents, for psychological assessment
in order to assess the pupil's social and emotional
needs and to determine how these can be best met.
g) Where the assault is committed by a parent/guardian, the parent/ guardian should be immediately instructed in writing not to make direct contact with the teacher/school pending full consideration of the matter by the board. Subsequently the board should correspond with the parent/ guardian stating:
- That the board considers the assault unacceptable.
- What action the board intends to take.
- Outlining what pre-conditions should be met before access to the school is restored.
h) Applications for leave of absence in relation
to a member who has been assaulted should be forwarded
to Primary Payments Section, Department of Education,
Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co. Westmeath. Each application
will be assessed on its merits.
i) Where an employee's personal property is damaged in the course of an assault, compensation for its replacement value may be paid by the board of management under the extended School Protection Policy.