Manchester teachers strike after facing repeated physical abuse from students
Featured image credit: Maayan Nemanov
Teachers from two primary schools in Greater Manchester have staged walkouts in protest of numerous instances of violence perpetrated by students.
Industrial action has been taking place at Lily Lane Primary school in Moston and Ravensfield Primary School in Dukinfield after multiple complaints from teachers of assaults from students.
Both schools are managed by the Changing Lives in Collaboration (CLiC) Trust, which is responsible for the management of four schools in North West England.
A spokesperson said: “The safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff across our schools is our highest priority.
“The claims made by the union do not reflect the day-to-day reality in our schools, nor the significant improvements that have been delivered since they joined the trust.
“Where individual behaviour incidents occur that fall below our high standards, they are taken seriously and addressed through robust behaviour and safeguarding policies developed in consultation with staff. In addition, we also work closely with families and the relevant external agencies to ensure the right support is in place for children with SEND.”
A teacher working at a school run by the same trust, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to NQ about the growing gap between the needs of pupils and the ability of teachers and schools to manage them.
They argued that violence in schools is a growing epidemic in schools throughout Manchester as well as the country, as schools nationwide face underfunding.
”In every class I know of now, there’s at least one child that can be violent,” they said. ”Schools don’t have the funding for one to one support. You’re expected to manage it alone.
”And the usual consequence? Five minutes outside the classroom. They’re sent back in almost immediately, sometimes they’ve even been given a treat to calm them down”
They painted a picture of teachers struggling to meet the needs of the students and maintain a high standard of behaviour, but lacking the power to do so. They described assemblies where distressed children kick and lash out while staff struggle to intervene safely, often without help.
Despite the risk, the teacher saidtthey had not received professional de-escalation training.
”If a child is trying to hurt me or another child and I accidentally hurt them trying to stop them, that comes back on me,” they said. ”Parents or governors will say you can’t handle it properly, but you were never properly trained in the first place. You’re just winging it and hoping for the best.
”I think the pandemic was a big factor in it. There’s a very noticeable difference between the attitudes and the behaviours of kids pre-pandemic compared to now. There’s also kids that likely have undiagnosed ADHD, but because waiting lists for that are so long we can’t put anything in place for them.”
Another teacher who works at a primary school in Greater Manchester, Emily Davies, recalled stories of colleagues being injured on the job,.
She said a teaching assistant was left with scratches up their arm after trying to coax a child out from under a table. In another incident a child attempted to push a teaching assistant into a locker, then proceeded to lock another teacher in their classroom.
”No teacher deserves to be punched in the face, locked in a room, or scratched up the arms. If it was happening to me every day, I’d be gone.”