Personal safety - violence at work

Violence at work can be defined as 'any incident in which an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted by a student, pupil or member of the public in circumstances arising out of the course of his or her employment'.

Clear guidelines and procedures are key to managing unacceptable behaviour.

Personal safety check list

• Check to see if your school or college has a policy arrangement for violence at work.
• Are you aware of any risk assessments or procedures in place to address potential violence from specific pupils/parents/intruders?
• Is there a procedure for reporting incidents such as verbal abuse, assaults and threatening behaviour (including reporting incidents to the police)?
• If an incident is reported, does your immediate supervisor investigate what happened and provide you with information on support networks or counselling?
• Are reports treated sympathetically and procedures reviewed to prevent recurrences?
• Have you received sufficient training on how to deal with difficult situations, such as difficult parents or challenging pupil behaviour?

Clear guidelines and procedures are key to managing unacceptable behaviour. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Department for Education and Skills and other organisations (e.g. the Suzy Lamplugh Trust) publish guidance and provide training for staff working in educational environments. There are many support groups for staff who are victims of violence or harassment at work.

For further advice on assaults in schools or colleges go to or download ATL's publication, Violence, abuse and threatening behaviour (pdf file) or go to thesummary pages for specific advice relavant to NQTs and student teachers.

More information

For more information, see the Resources pages of this Health and Safety section. You may wish to order the Health and Safety Executive booklet Violence in the Education Sector.

Help and advice

There are many support services for staff who are victims of violence or harassment at work.

If you have a specific query about health and safety in the workplace, contact your headteacher in the first instance.

If you feel that your employer is exposing you to risks or is not carrying out its legal duties, you can also contact the Health and Safety Executive (in strictest confidence). Call 08701 545 500.

Help and support

For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000), Belfast (028 9078 2020) or Edinburgh (0131 272 2748) officesor emailinfo@atl.org.uk

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

If you are not a member,join now.

Further information

• Assaults by pupils