Teachers attacked by the hundred

BY NATHAN BEAUMONT

Hundreds of teachers have received ACC-funded treatment after being assaulted at school.

Principals are shocked by the figure and are demanding immediate action to make schools safer.

Some school staff now fear breaking up fights in case pupils have weapons, and others refuse to do lunchtime duty alone.

A teacher injured during a school attack says that staff will always be at risk from "nutters".

Figures issued to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act show that 442 teachers needed ACC-funded treatment after assaults at school during 2008 and 2009, costing about $413,000.

Latest Education Ministry figures show there were a further 335 pupil assaults on teachers in 2008 that did not require ACC-funded treatment.

The most expensive individual claim was for a 2008 assault, worth about $124,000. ACC refused to provide details about the incident.

The two largest assault claims last year were about $40,000 and $45,000.

A secondary school teacher seriously injured in a classroom attack last year fears he will never make a full recovery. He has spinal injuries, suffers constant pain and tires easily.

"I am able to work only part-time hours because of the injury I sustained to my spinal cord. I have a pronounced limp in the leg that was paralysed and my neurosurgeon cannot say for sure that I will ever make a full recovery. Some situations still trigger flashbacks of the incident.

"As an avid sportsman, my lifestyle has had to undergo many changes which I am having trouble accepting.

"I think anyone in a job that fronts the public is at risk from the nutters that exist in our society, people who lack awareness of the damage they can inflict or lack conscience."

The Post Primary Teachers Association, a union representing about 18,000 teachers and principals, says that unless classrooms are made safer, teachers will leave the profession.

"It is a serious issue and I can't see the problem going away, but there are no easy answers," spokeswoman Jill Gray said.

Some teachers were too scared to do lunchtime duty alone and had resorted to supervising in pairs.

"I find it very sad that it has come to this, but hopefully these figures really highlight the issue and get some action started."

Secondary Principals Association president Peter Gall said there was anecdotal evidence of more fights between pupils involving weapons. It had reached the stage where teachers now had to consider their own safety before stepping in to break up fights.

Education Minister Anne Tolley said assaults of any kind on teachers were "completely unacceptable".

She hoped a $45 million Education Ministry-led project would help deal with behavioural problems in schools.

More than 5000 teachers from low-decile schools will have training in handling children who lash out or misbehave in the classroom.

In total, teachers made 9567 ACC claims during 2008 and 2009, totalling about $6.7 million. There are 93,000 registered teachers. Most of the claims were a result of lifting objects and straining muscles.

ACC costs relating to an injury covered a range of entitlements, including treatment, rehabilitation, medication, carers and home help.

An ACC spokeswoman said there were no specific injury-prevention programmes aimed at teachers. Most of its targeted injury prevention workplace programmes were for high-risk industries such as forestry, agriculture or construction.

INJURED ON THE JOB

The cost of the top five claims lodged by teachers in 2008 and 2009 for injuries sustained at school:

2009

Fell over: $108,757

Hurt back when lifting an object: $58,343

Stabbed: $45,083

Collided with pupil: $40,454

Slipped over while playing sport: $31,554

2008

Assault: $124,625

Tripped and fell: $109,642

Hit head on door: $83,863

Bumped against shelf and hit by falling objects: $61,904

Restraining a child: $58,347

- © Fairfax NZ News