Teachernet, Violence, threatening behaviour and abuse in schools

Violence, threatening behaviour and abuse in schools

Some schools are blighted by the behaviour of a few parents, which can cause serious disruption or worse, resulting in abusive or aggressive behaviour towards staff.

All schools should have policies for incidents involving abusive, threatening or violent behaviour to staff by adult visits. This should cover:

What to do when an incident occurs
Who to contact during an emergency
Records
Follow-up action
Support for the victim
Liaison with the police

A Legal Toolkit for Schools: Tackling Abuse, Threats and Violence Towards Members of the School Community, DfES 2002

This consists of:

A poster for schools setting out the rights and responsibilities of school visitors
Recommendations for drawing up a school policy for dealing with incidents
Advice on risk assessment
A model incident report form
Examples of model letters for warning abusive or violent visitors to school
Details of legal remedies

Violence to Staff in the Education Sector, HSE
HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, C010 2WA
tel: 01787 881165
website: HSE Books

Key messages

"Although there is no simple solution to violence, and it is not the role of employers or staff to solve fundamental problems of violence in society, there is plenty that organisations can do to reduce the risk of verbal or physical assault in the workplace."

"As a first step in meeting their obligation to reduce the risks of violence to their staff, employers should issue an authoritative statement of intent. This will demonstrate to employees that the employer considers violence towards employees and the risk of violence to be a serious matter."

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs)

These were introduced through the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to address disorder which, although of a relatively low level, can blight communities. Those subject to an Anti-Social Behaviour Orders are banned from behaving in public places in the manner that gave rise to the Order. A school may be named as a public place in an ASBO

Where a trespasser enters school grounds and is involved in anti-social behaviour, the LEA can apply for Interim Orders. An Interim Order can be made without notice being given to the offender and can be granted at the start of the application process to overcome the problem of delays in the courts. A breach of an Interim Order has the same penalties as a breach of ASBO.

For an adult, maximum penalty is five years imprisonment.
Maximum penalty for juveniles aged between 12 and 17 years is a 24-month Detention and Training Order (of which 12 months is custodial and 12 months is in the community). A juvenile aged between 12 and 14 years must be a persistent (criminal) offender to be given a DTO.
10-11 year olds can be given Community Orders for ASBO breaches.

A Guide to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Home Office 2002