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Draft Guidelines on Assaults for Schools
INTO Special Education Conference Croke Park, 8th December 2012
The Legal Context
• EU OSHA Definition- 3rd Party Violence in the context of the workplace– “physical violence, verbal aggression or the threat
of physical violence where the aggressor is not a work colleague, e.g. the person, customer, client or patient receiving the service”
• Assaults on teachers ( by pupils or others) are a workplace safety issue
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005
• The Employer- the Board of Management shall ensure, as far as reasonably practical, the safety, health and welfare of employees through:– Assessing risks and minimizing these through
taking measures set out in the act– Reporting incidents where appropriate
• Employees have a duty to take reasonable care to protect their safety at work.
Consequences of Violence at Work
For the individual–Physical harm– Stress– Emotional trauma– Feelings of
powerlessness–Demotivation
For the organization•Higher staff turnover•Increased absenteeism and sickness absence•Higher insurance costs
Guidelines – should include
• Introduction- – Assaults acknowledged as an organisational issue,
not a personal one– Constructive approach to prevention and dealing
with assaults
• Background– Definition, legal framework, prevalence– Impact of assaults
Concrete Steps to be taken in the school
Guidelines
Where to next?
• Preparation of a report of this Conference• INTO discussions with the DES and
Management bodies with a view to revising Circular 40/97
• INTO Representation – development of HSE Health and Safety Guidelines for Primary Schools
• In the interim, work at school level to develop policy in their own context