SCHOOL VIOLENCE: Student attacks on teachers in Mississauga and Brampton increasingSep 21, 2017
More than 7,000 incidents last school year in Peel and the escalating numbers are 'a growing concern,' according to local educators
Fractured forearms, bruised limbs and knocked out teeth are just a sample of the injuries inflicted on educational assistants in Peel. These disturbing photos show some of those injuries. The images were presented to Ontario's Ministry of Education. - Photos supplied by Educational Resource Facilitators of Peel (ERFP)
Elementary school teachers and teaching assistants in Peel are on a campaign seeking more support for special-needs students after they reported more than 7,000 incidents of workplace violence in classrooms last school year.
The issue has become so alarming that many teachers and teaching assistants are going to work wearing protective equipment.
The more than 350 workplace violence incidents reported by elementary school teachers in Peel last year, said Matthew Jackson, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Peel local, include teachers being bitten, kicked, scratched, punched and threatened. Some even required them to go to the hospital.
In 2015/16, Peel elementary teachers reported 250 incidents of workplace violence.
RELATED CONTENT
VIOLENT ATTACKS ON GTA TEACHERS: ‘I’m afraid to go into the classroom’
“We’re seeing increased incidents of students striking out (on teachers),” Jackson said, noting there have been incidents where furniture has been thrown.
“We as teachers work with these students who we know need extra support.”
It’s not known how many of the incidents involve students with special needs or mental health issues acting out or having “meltdowns,” Jackson said.
But Jackson said the ETFO is on a provincewide campaign seeking action on violence in schools. The union wants to see the provincial government review its education funding formula and provide more cash for special education and support for students with high-risk behaviours.
“We want the government and the public to be aware these issues are happening and are increasing,” he said.
Just last year, Peel police say they were forced tohandcuff a six-year-old girl at a Mississauga school because she was being violent.
In Durham and other school boards, there are similar campaigns due to increased incidents of violence on teachers.
Rose Procopio, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association in Dufferin-Peel, said her members have also seen an increase in teachers’ concerns about violence in the classroom, but she didn’t have specific data available.
“We know from a survey done provincially just this past May that across the province the incidents of violence experienced by Catholic teachers is increasing,” she said in an email. “We do not have data to stipulate how many of the incidents arise from students with special needs.”
Currently the resources to help assess the source of the students’ problems, including psychologists and social workers, are lacking, Procopio said.
“Our Association across the province, including our Dufferin-Peel local units, are calling for increased resources for teachers and supports for students, better training for teachers, and more standardized reporting procedures,” she said.
For teaching assistants in Peel, the problem appears to be much worse.
Hilary Campbell, president of Educational Resource Facilitators of Peel (ERFP), an independent union with more than 3,700 members in Peel public schools, said teaching assistants reported more than 6,700 incidents of violence from students last year, more than 600 of which resulted in medical attention or lost time for the workers.
This year, there have already been 41 incidents reported, she said.(Sept 17, 2017)
“(They’re higher) because we’re the ones working with the students one on one. We’re the first line. We’re the ones assigned to work with special needs students,” she said.
There is no easy answer, Campbell added, as every student has a right to be educated and be in school, but educators also have a right to a safe working environment.
“The needs of students are becoming higher. We have protective equipment, but it isn’t enough,” she said. “It’s a growing concern.”
Both of Peel’s school boards provide protective equipment to teachers.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board spokesperson Bruce Campbell said the process for accessing protective personal equipment in Dufferin-Peel is team-based.
“When the school team identifies a need for such equipment, the principal is able to order specific items to address the needs of the individual staff,” he said. “In the interim, through a special education consultant, items are available for loan.”
Kits contain various items such as a light jacket, arm or hand protectors and other equipment, Campbell said.
“It is the expectation that, when the need is identified and equipment ordered, the appropriate staff wear the items consistently,” he said.
Peel District School Board's Kayla Tischoff said the board offers a variety of equipment for teachers, including jackets, inserts for jackets, gloves, shin guards, disposable face shields and disposable aprons.
Items would be requested on a case-by-case basis, based on specific student and staff needs, she said.