Teachers & staff experience physical assault

Bay of Plenty teachers and school leaders experience physical assault
NZ Herald 20 July 2021
The number of Bay of Plenty students being stood down, suspended and excluded for physically assaulting teachers and school leaders is on the rise and children between 5 and 9 make up more than half the incidents.

A youth psychotherapist says the “dire” figures show a need for better resourcing in schools and New Zealand’s largest education union says staffing resources in primary schools across the country are “stretched to breaking point”.

But the Ministry of Education says its Budget 2020 package allocated almost $200 million to support students with their mental health needs.

Data released by the Ministry of Education under the Official Information Act reveals the number of students disciplined for physically assaulting school staff has almost doubled since 2016.

In 2016, 30 students were stood down for physically assaulting school staff members in the Bay of Plenty. Of those, 18 were aged between 5 and 9.

Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington was “surprised” by the ministry figures. She said students physically assaulting school staff was a “clear” issue for schools in the region.

“I would have expected the numbers to be higher, just listening to the challenging situations a lot of our schools are dealing with.”

But she said stand-downs, suspensions and exclusions were a “last resort” for these schools.
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