From The Point: Minimising work-related violence in schools

There is an urgent need to change outdated attitudes to occupational health and safety in education. To help affect this change, the IEU is producing a guide to minimising work-related violence in schools, after conducting a thorough review of existing workplace safety guidelines in the non-government sector.

The following are excerpts from that upcoming guide.

Every school requires a clear, straightforward step-by-step process to minimise work-related violence and respond effectively to violent incidents. Schools are not only places of learning; they are also workplaces where every staff member deserves a safe and secure environment.

Employing authorities and principals bear the responsibility of providing a safe learning and working environment for both students and staff and they are responsible for identifying and managing the risks associated with work-related violence. They must implement measures that either eliminate risks to student and staff safety or reduce them to the extent practically possible.

Staff safety in schools should be viewed as an occupational health and safety (OHS) concern, like it is in construction or at manufacturing sites.

To fulfill this duty of care, it is imperative to recognise and proactively respond to disruptive, aggressive, and potentially violent behaviour before it escalates into a crisis. In case behaviour does escalate to violence, it is critical to have the necessary skills and support structures in place to safeguard everyone involved.

There must be a comprehensive safety plan for all members of the school community, including staff. This plan must be more than a set of instructions for responding after a violent incident occurs.

The plan must be an enforceable, straightforward document outlining how the school can minimise violent incidents. It must be developed in consultation with and be made available to all employees.

Regardless of whether a student has special needs, student-initiated violence is a workplace hazard, and it is an employer's legal duty to inform all staff members about any potential behavioural issues to minimise the risk of injury to the student, other students, and employees.

Using the OHS framework, each school's work-related violence plan should identify hazards, assess risks, including the likelihood and potential severity of harm, implement controls to reduce the risk, and communicate risk factors to all relevant school staff.

Background

Historically, many schools, including staff and leadership, have accepted violence against staff as "part of the job." This outdated perspective has hindered progress in ensuring worker safety in the education sector.

Surveys conducted by the ACTU in their Work Shouldn't Hurt campaign have exposed the grim reality of work-related violence (WRV). Workers in the education and health sectors are most likely to report exposure to traumatic events, aggressive clients or students, and workplace violence. Shockingly, three in ten workers surveyed in these industries have experienced an injury in the past 12 months, and they also suffer from the highest rates of mental illness.

A student-first approach should not be an excuse to neglect staff safety. Safety for all must be the paramount consideration in schools.

The teaching profession has never been more demanding, with administrative burdens and parental expectations reaching unprecedented levels. The scourge of social media abuse adds a new dimension of stress to the job. Additionally, the faulty Reportable Conduct scheme is unjustly persecuting many dedicated teachers. These stressors are contributing significantly to the growing teacher shortage crisis.

Up to date OHS practices counter staff burnout. When teachers are supported by their employers, they are more likely to miss fewer days and continue working longer in the profession they love and have chosen.

Common excuses for not maintaining proper OHS standards in schools

There needs to be a culture change in schools, from all sides. Outdated attitudes are putting staff at risk. The following are examples of excuses given for not properly implementing staff safety measures:

“We can’t do anything because the child has a disability, and we’ll be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.”

Yes, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 s.22 makes it unlawful for an education institution to deny or limit student access to educational benefit and makes it unlawful to expel a student or subject the student to any detriment.

BUT: The Disability Discrimination Act s.22 (3) & (4) also make it clear that it is not unlawful to discriminate against a student if avoidance of discrimination would place an unjustifiable hardship on the provider.

And the Act provides an exemption for anything done by a person in direct compliance with a prescribed law s.47 (2).

Yes, the Disability Standards for Education 2005 Act requires education institutions to make reasonable adjustments for students with a disability. (Standard 3)

BUT: Standard 3.4 (e) also makes clear there is no requirement to make an adjustment that is unreasonable. The determination of what is unreasonable considers the effect on anyone else affected, including the education provider, staff, and other students. In some situations, the risk of violence cannot be reduced to a safe level despite all controls, in which case the employer may be in contravention of the OHS Act by failing to provide a safe workplace.

“We’ll deal with this violent incident, but it must stay confidential.”

No, it must not. The OHS Act Victoria 2005 s.69 states that an employer must allow a Health and Safety Representative to have access to information that the employer has relating to actual or potential hazards. The only exception is access to any medical information concerning an employee without the employee's consent.

Employers must also:

·         Provide such information, instruction, training, or supervision to employees as is necessary to enable those persons to perform their work in a way that is safe and without risks to health.

·         Keep information and records relating to the health and safety of employees

·         Consult with employees when identifying or assessing hazards or risks to health or safety at a workplace as well as when making decisions about the measures to be taken to control risks

This consultation MUST involve the HSR if there is one.